WHO IS JEREMY CORBIN? ROBIN SHEPHERD
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/6070/instant_view_corbyn_win_and_retotalitarianisation_of_the_left
In Jeremy Corbyn, Labour now has a leader who is essentially anti-Western, and that manifests itself in a multiplicity of ways from opposition to domestic free market economics to a sytematic rationalisation of the anti-freedom agendas of groups such as Hamas and international leaders such as Vladimir Putin.
Retotalitarianisation is quite a mouthful, and, unfortunately, we can’t claim to have invented it. Largely, though, it only ever existed in academic and fringe discourse, and even that was quite some time ago.
It is time that it came back into fashion. Jeremy Corbyn’s huge victory in the Labour leadership contest shows that all the reformist drives in the party from Neil Kinnock to Tony Blair have come to nought. The heart of the typical Labour activist — especially the middle class ones — was never in it.
Now Labour has a leader who is essentially anti-Western, and that manifests itself in a multiplicity of ways from opposition to domestic free market economics to a sytematic rationalisation of the anti-freedom agendas of groups such as Hamas and international leaders such as Vladimir Putin.
Of course, the word “totalitarian” — always a controversial analytical device since it was made famous by Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski during the Cold War — will rile some among the chatterati.
Political definitions can only really ever give an indication of the direction of travel. “Capitalism”, for instance, is used so widely these days that it tells you pretty much nothing.
But applying the totalitarian epithet — perhaps “quasi totalitarian” would appease the doubters — to Corbyn’s political outlook is probably better than any alternative that actually conveys some meaning. What after all does “far-Left” mean?
No, Corbyn isn’t Stalin. Nor does he have any real chance of getting power. So, in a certain sense it might seem that there isn’t a great deal to worry about.
On the other hand, we must not be complacent. Nor should we ignore the dangers that all this may bring to our wider political culture.
Corbyn does not appear committed to the core pre-requisites of the open society, at home or abroad. And the fact that one of the great British political parties has put such a person at its helm should be cause for profound regret.
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