Piffle = "Foolish or futile talk or ideas; nonsense" (The Free Dictionary)
One of the main reasons we find ourselves in the state we're in has been the over pre-occupation of the main political parties in Britain, most of all the New Labour Government , but also the Conservatives and to a lesser degree the Liberal Democrats, with piffle, to quote London Mayor Boris Johnson. By piffle, I mean a foolish, and frequently futile, pre-occupation with domestic social issues to the exclusion of serious attention to the economy, geopolitics and the environment.
Personally, for instance, I'm fed up with politicians invoking "hard-working families". What on earth does this mean ? A return to 19th century domestic economy where several generations of the same family labour under one roof, and live in fear of the work house perhaps. What people need is economic stability and a sustainable livelihood, including fair incentives to work, whether they choose to live in a conventional family or some other arrangement.
The main function of government, to differing degrees at the local/regional, national and global levels, is to create the conditions for sustainable economic development through good regulation, and other measures, having regard to the need for environmental conservation and protection. As far as possible, avoidance of violent international and civil conflicts is also a key requirement, as is emergency and disaster management.
The provision of health, education and other social services is also an important role of government, but this is not possible in the absence of good economic management, based on a realistic understanding of the main contributors to the economic cycle at any particular time, something the present government has never possessed. Given their own shortcomings, the role of this and, indeed, other governments is not, therefore, to tell people how to run their own lives.
For New Labour, this has been a fatal distraction from the real work of government.
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