There are only two important ideas in politics and political philosophy:

 

• That government belongs to the people (ie the people are the source of sovereignty)
• That the people belong to the government (ie the government/state is the source of sovereignty)

Mr Eugenides tends towards the former individualist approach:

 

Every year, I propose that each taxpayer receive an itemised statement from HMRC, providing a detailed breakdown of how every penny of your taxes has been spent - £431.20 on the NHS, £193.31 on the police, 59p subsidising MPs' booze, 2p on duck houses, etc. etc. - and countersigned, for good measure, by your local MP.

 

Is it value for money? Does it reflect my priorities to some minimal degree? Am I happy with the political representative that nodded it through? If so, then I may - generously, if through gritted teeth - cut you a cheque

 

That’s the polite bit.

 

The UK Labour Party delivers the second, collectivist option. When in doubt – lots, lots more government. The Daily (Maybe) looks at those Labour leadership collectivists, hoping one day to rule us - and in the darkness bind us:

 

Abbott was strong on name checking all the bugbears of the left: ID cards, the war, ten pence tax, detention of children, bankers are evil, housing et al. As she said in her closing statement "On all those big issues I called them right and every other candidate got them wrong."

 

Zzzzzzz ... huh ... what was that? Bankers? Evil? Very British dude wearily brings us back to real life:

 

The truth is that the investment banks did a lot better than both Governments and retail banking during the crisis because of the idiocy of Governments and the Public in buying assets they couldn’t'afford and spending more than they earned.

 

Imagine the horror for all such Labour and other Left collectivists – the horror - if American-style Tea Party people favouring smaller, honest government came our way:

 

… there is a Palinite tendency creeping into UK mainstream rightwing politics

 

Aaargh.

 

Then there’s collectivist control over Chesil Beach, beloved by diamond geezer:

 

There are reputedly 100 billion pebbles from end to end … you pass a big sign which reads "The unauthorised removal of pebbles from the beach is prohibited".

 

Hmm. If a staggering ten million people turned up there and each lugged a heavy bag of 100 pebbles back to their cars to decorate their gardens, there would still be 99,000,000,000 pebbles left.

 

Amused Cynicism points us to a dim collectivist hoping to blunder around lavishly with other people’s money:

 

I think the root reason is that Balls, in common with most politicians — and certainly most from the main parties — doesn’t really understand modern technology and how it will make the 21st century different from the 20th.

 

The answer? Younger voters should cut loose and vote for the Pirate Party:

 

People under 35 make up about 25% of the electorate and 20% of the voters (numbers are guesstimates, but accurate enough for the argument I’m making), and it wouldn’t make sense for the big parties to appeal to 20% of the electorate if in doing so they alienate the other 80%.

 

Alas for that noble view, up in Scotland Better Nation points out that if a Labour MSP stands down, other parties may not have a good chance of nabbing that seat.

 

Tim Worstall is unimpressed with Labour MP Denis MacShane’s views on prostitution.

 

Calling in the UN, that ultimate phenomenon of governments working together for the Common Good, does not necessarily help. Too Much To Say For Myself on alleged atrocities against women in the Congo:

 

I think in light of these more recent revelations it’s fair to say the UN, once again, has got a lot of explaining to do. UN forces may not be responsible for the rapes, but by the looks of it they’re certainly responsible for not doing enough to prevent them.

 

Here’s someone from a G20 protest showing her defiance of state power, this time (presumably) from some sort of complicated conflicted Left point of view.

 

Thus we trudge on to another unavoidable eternal theme: Women v Men.

 

The Awra Amba community in northern Ethiopia has its own way of balancing male and female roles:

 

… work that people do within Awra Amba is based on their abilities, so women and men do the work which they are best at, regardless of whether that work is traditionally thought to be gendered

 

Should men offer acts of courtesy to women? Watch in awe as one Bidisha of the Guardian (who has views on such matters) is mauled from two different angles:

First, Juliette:

 

Which of the following things is different from the other things in this list:

a) A black eye
b) A fractured jaw
c) A violent rape
d) The phrase ‘you look nice today, sweetheart’

I can’t even imagine how rude and obnoxious these uber-feminists are in day-to-day life. They’ll go mental over the tiniest little thing, and haven’t even got the basic human decency to keep their mentalness to themselves.

 

And then Heresiarch:

 

I wouldn't deny that for some feminists the suffering of the women of Afghanistan is an important issue. It's not that feminists never talk about these issues. It's just that I seriously wonder why they ever talk about anything else …

 

Bidisha's main complaint seems to be that women are marginalised and denigrated in a thousand small ways. But is not her relentless, mind-numbing focus on trivialities a symptom of that very relegation of women's issues to the margins of public debate? Is Bidisha herself a misogynist?
 

* * * * *

 

Let’s change pace. What about blogging as a genre?

 

A Very Public Sociologist has had a clever idea of self-promotion, namely to ask readers to vote for the UK’s 100 Worst Politics Blogs. A wily move which headed off his own blog’s much deserved place prominent on any such list.

 

This exercise helpfully takes us to some exotic places hitherto unexplored on BBRU.

 

F’rinstance, The Stilletoed Socialist:

In a blogosphere dominated by right wing, angry men, I feel a certain responsibility to counteract or merely dilute their poison with a different viewpoint.

Thanks - for caring.

 

Then there’s Through The Scary Door:

 

Body of a wolf, legs of a horse, eyes of a priest, mind of a wasp, hair of a chimp, postman’s shins, bowels of a crab and a buffalo anus!

 

Hmm. Scary indeed. Especially that exclamation mark.

 

If you want to see a really scary true-life picture, check out Rantin’Rab as he ponders the school run:

 

We exit via the gate, pushing our way past people who seem to have no idea of self awareness. The road is heaving with cars parked either side of the road. The majority are decent cars, only a few years old. Filled with one or sometimes two fat disasters, (they are ALL fat, no exception), all the cars have one thing in common. They have disabled parking permits on the dashboard. All the cars are 'mobility motors'. Paid for by me, the tax payer.

As we take a slow stroll home, I'm suddenly struck by a thought.

It's me and my family who are not normal. The scene I have described is normality in the Britain of today.

 

I'm a freak. And you know what, I'm proud to be a freak.

 

Then there’s Blurred Clarity. Hard to be sure what has made this blog score nicely in the 100 Worst Political Blogs list, as it is largely unreadable.

 

Religion? Try Martin Kelly from the West of Scotland:

 

While the person who wrote that might consider themself to be orthodox, in reality their sentiments are the tawdriest mirror image of the southern European anti-clericalism which may have led souls to Hell.

 

 * * * * *

 

Finally, some good writings on a human scale.

 

Left Back In the Changing Room wonders how low Scottish football can go – but looks on the bright side.

 

It’s A Family Thing recalls the unflinching raw courage of Jim Corbett, tiger hunter.

 

Max Atkinson wisely reminds us about Death by PowerPoint.

 

And, following my own recent postings here about UK disability policy, here is a good blog for deaf people, plus another by WheelchairSteve recording the not-so-petty indignities endured by some disabled people in public areas.

 

Very very finally, Manchester leads the way in giving awards to its local blogging community. Cool idea. Try it, other places.

 

* * * * *

 

The next BBRU will arrive at some point in the future, for sure. Contributions from readers of all blogs especially welcome – just email links to britblog @ gmail.com