Individualism has taken over

YOUNGER adults will not easily believe that their working-class grandfathers, after World War II, were quite capable of discussing any ethical principles behind political policies in a manner very rarely on display now, and never in the present media, which is obsessed with talk of celebrities.

In Victorian times the miners of South Wales were the most intelligent, principled voters in Britain.

Their politics were not shaped upon simple self-interest, as motivates angry, confused voters today, but upon their clear vision of social justice for every citizen, a sense of purpose which is not even understood now.

Of course, the destruction of heavy industries has made it more difficult for thoughtful voters to share their thoughts and discover a common cause in the clubs and chapels. Politics now is splintered among different factions who have no intention to search for the common good.

That ideal has been murdered by some politicians and the moguls of the national media in favour of selfish “individualism”, which is easier for them to control.

A society without principles can only travel in one direction, helpless in a free-market economy manipulated by advertising gurus and greedy tycoons towards the mindless, aggressive populism of Donald Trump, full of rage and hate.

It is a logical development that self-centredness must lead to resentment of everyone else, instead of the collective principles of mutual concern in the lives of Clem Attlee or Gandhi.

CN Westerman Brynna