Leveson

The reaction to the Leveson Report and the political debate that has followed it is symptomatic of what is fundamentally wrong with our political system and how we have lost sight of the roles and functions of government and the nature of the human being.

The human is a social and regulatory being.  Humans regulate their environment and this regulation is essential to the peace and stability of society and is a reflection of human nature. It is the social regulatory nature of the human being that gives rise to government; that is what we mean by government being derivative. Government is the principal regulatory mechanism that we utilise for establishing a meaningful social order. As a result, government's principal function is the regulation of society in accordance to the wishes and needs of the polity. Human beings are essentially interdependent and interactive with other human beings. As a result, no form of interactive human behaviour can be exempt from some form of regulation as such behaviour interacts with other humans and affects them however slightly. Not all human behaviour is subject to regulation, but there is very little that falls into this category. By the same token, individual freedom is indeed a basic human right, but has to be seen in the context of the human being as a social animal, in that, one person’s exercise of freedom may require the restriction of anothers. For example, your freedom to swing your fist ends at my nose, and your freedom of speech ends when you utilise it to encourage violence, hatred and discrimination towards me. Thus, freedom is not an absolute value, it is relative. That includes the freedom of the press.

The press must be subject to regulation, simples! In an ideal world, the press could self-regulate, but in the UK, they have demonstrated beyond any argument that this is impossible. They are neither intellectually nor ethically capable of it. Following the scandal of the press treatment of Princess Diana and the subsequent Inquiry, we were assured that they had learned their lesson and would never descend to such levels again. Remember the Home Secretary at the time, David Mellor, warning them that they were drinking in the last chance saloon. They got worse. All rights carry responsibilities and the British press have shown with crystal clarity that they will not exercise their responsibilities, either to decency or human dignity. In good neoliberal practice, anything goes in the pursuit of profit. Added to this is a pathetic Prime Minister who assured us that he would implement the Leveson recommendations but who continually grovels to vested interests and who is desperate that the press support him in the next election. I used to think that Gordon Brown was the worst Prime Minister we had ever had, but he is a giant next to this intellectual pygmy.  David Cameron is a genuine disgrace to his office.

As a result, there will be no respite for the British people from a feral press and an interest driven government. They will behave for a time, but then flex their power again when they feel that they are safe from any form of accountability, and this Prime Minister has given that assurance. Despite their noises, Labour will buckle under as well as Milliband and his crew are no better or braver than the Tories. That the British press needs to be externally regulated is now so self-evident that it should not need to be said. They are guilty of criminal behaviour and are morally bankrupt. It is a pity that genuine press such as the Guardian have to come under this regulation as well, but that is what needs to be done. As we stand, no-one is safe from these guttersnipes. It is not necessary to restrict the freedom of the press, it is necessary to regulate that freedom and hold it to account, and that is a major difference. When newspapers like the Daily Mail invent stories like the McCanns selling their child Madeleine it is time to say enough, and you will not be allowed to do such things in future without serious penalty.

Your Servant
Doktor Kommirat