Camvoms translated

Yesterday David Cameron wrote an op ed piece in the Daily Telegraph. It's actually a  fairly rousing call to arms for all neoliberals and very inspirational. The problem is it was written in Neoliberal, the language of the laissez-faire, Ayn-Rand-loving capitalist and therefore very hard for ordinary people to parse. I thought it was my public duty to translate the first few paragraphs for those people (Nick Clegg? Vince Cable?) still not fluent in Neoliberalism. 


Brick by Brick, we're building ourselves a fort 


Last year, in these pages, I set out my vision for opening up new markets. It’s simple. I want us to create new ways in which we can exploit people and bring about unprecedented wealth for those already in power. In place of what we currently have, I want truly open public service market, where companies can choose to run the profitable hospitals and schools, with the government and taxpayers subsidising the provision of information that allows companies to make that choice; where large transnational companies, with no interest in the outcomes for society, no interest in serving anyone other than their shareholders, can come in and offer poor services that poor people access free while the wealthy can buy access to superior services; where we only help those that are absolutely destitute; and where these politicians or bureaucrats in Whitehall do not have to be held accountable for the mess they create by creating a completely hollow government. 



Our public servants work incredibly hard,  but we neoliberals have systematically dismantled the state sector and so not enough people get the great service they have paid for and have a right to expect. I want to bring to everyone the  illusion of choice and and make them forget about the standards they previously enjoyed. That means not just a change in structures but a genuine culture shift that changes the attitude of the public, making them revile public sector workers and government by  providing scapegoats such as immigrants, unions, socialism, multiculturalism and the “mess we inherited from the last government”. This will leave them disempowered and feeling apathetic toward collective responsibility, allowing them to focus only on individualism and therefore paving the way to greater wealth for those already wealthy.  


Just as these principles guiding reform are simple, so are the reasons driving it. We want to be richer. We are greedy and selfish and do not care about those that are vulnerable. We misguidedly believe that we are not privileged , but entitled. We have no understanding of society and how factors such as race, class, gender, disability and sexuality have led to a socially constructed state that allows white, middle class heterosexual men with large foreheads to prosper at the expense of others"


Here's the original:



Brick by brick, we’re tearing down the big state


Last year, in these pages, I set out my vision for improving the quality of our public services. It’s simple. I want us to end once and for all the closed state monopoly where central government decides what you get, and how you get it. In its place, I want truly open public services, where people can choose the hospitals and schools they go to, with the right information at their fingertips to make that choice; where different providers, from the private and voluntary sectors, can come in and offer new services that people can access free; where funding is directed to helping the most disadvantaged; and where these services are truly accountable to local people, not to politicians or bureaucrats in Whitehall. 


Our public servants work incredibly hard, and yet not enough people get the great service they have paid for and have a right to expect. I want to bring to everyone the choice and standards that the best provide. That means not just a change in structures but a genuine culture shift that changes the attitude of public service providers to make them more responsive to users, and makes users feel truly empowered. 


Just as these principles guiding reform are simple, so are the reasons driving it. State bureaucracy has proved too clumsy and inefficient, stifling the innovation we need at a time when value for money is so critical. I also have an instinctive belief that parents, patients and professionals are so much better equipped to make the choices that will drive improvements in our public services. Give the power to them, allow new providers to come forward with new ideas, and good things will happen.