Economics by homeopathy

I didn’t see Ed Balls’ speech to the Fabian Society Annual Conference yesterday; I was a work.

Well, I wasn’t at work. Strictly speaking, I was asleep. But I did go to work yesterday and, anyway, I deserved a lie in.

Not that I have to give an excuse not to have been at a Fabian Conference. It’s just that this article, like most other articles appearing on political blogs this weekend, will at least make reference to the speech given by the Shadow Chancellor. In fact, most other articles about the speech will probably be written by people who weren’t there either. They might even be written by people who got their idea of what the speech said by reading other articles by people who weren’t there to hear first hand what the speech said. People who don’t even write political articles (I know, weird, right?) might read an article about the speech that is a fifth or sixth hand account of it.

This is economic alternative by homeopothy. Is it working for you? Do you feel better? Perhaps it’s just a placebo. Oh dear, some seem to have suffered from an allergic reaction. Dilute it some more. Make it seem like it’s saying what they want to hear. Then they might like it. Is this palatable for you now? No more than a drop of what’s actually there. Now it tastes like water. Now you’ll like it. It’s just water. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s water. Nothing will change. Water.

Usually, I feel more engaged with what’s happening. It’s because I want to be engaged. I’m interested. But as I groggily flicked through my Twitter timeline late yesterday morning, I felt removed. Not plugged in or turned on. Copped out. Not just in that I wasn’t there, but that the reality of the situation shifted depending on who was interpreting it. Ed Balls is a Tory now. He supports the cuts. He is a Blairite agitator. He’s not gone far enough. He has had a brush with reality. Nothing has changed. Water.

This fiscal conservatism will strike a chord with the public. Once the public recognise the nuanced clauses of his argument, they will respond. This muddled economics will leave the public dazed and confused. The public demand a socialist alternative. Water.

What to believe?

I feel out of the loop. This must be how the world looks from inside the Westminster bubble, wiping their suit sleeves on the glass to get a clearer view. What is this? A universe of contradictions. The paradox of a single moment. The elasticity of reality. What to make of it? What to believe? This is what Kafka warned about.

I know what I want to believe. I don’t know if it’s true. Someone let me know. Give it to me straight. No water.