The slippery slope

What exactly I wonder is the relationship between a government’s fiscal rectitude and its authoritarian instincts? Somebody somewhere must have written a thesis on the subject. One can see a direct link between reducing state expenditure whilst increasing the forces of repression. The question morphs into on whose behalf is the repression being wielded? I imagine Noam Chomsky has chewed on this subject a fair bit. I just take it for granted that so-called fiscal rectitude and authoritarianism go hand-in-hand. Hence, hot on the heels of Reeve’s bond market bowing budget (and they seemed to think it was OK) we have the lame Lammy, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice (Ha!) proposing the most significant attack on jury trials in modern history. Should we be surprised that the government of a former chief prosecutor should find this acceptable? What is happening here, and so far not receiving any attention in the media is a continuation of Starmer’s authoritarianism inside the Labour Party where members were treated disgracefully. At least Stalin had his show trials. Anyone who protests against the State’s misdemeanours had better watch out. Juries have shown the door to prosecutors pursuing the likes of Clive Ponting to climate protestors. But its seems for people like Lammy our attachment to juries is sentimental. The current proposal to abolish jury trials in more cases is what I believe is what is known as being on the ‘slippery slope.’