Comments by "gerhard7" (@gerhard7323) on "Britain's Populist Revolt has Changed Politics Forever. A Political Realignment of People vs Elites" video.

Great interview. Goodwin on point. The old British elites, though far from perfect, could best be described as far more benignly paternalistic than today's. There was still very much a sense of shared values and a shared future, whereas today's really only show contempt for those 'below' them and toward the very idea of being 'British' any longer. I find this particularly distasteful when you'll hear them quite cheerfully waxing lyrical about the richness, sophistication and beauty of European cultures and histories say whilst they so very clearly despise their own and feel extremely comfortable, nay superior, in doing so. David Goodhart's summary of the Brexit vote as a vote between the competing interests of the Somewheres vs the Anywheres neatly described what has been going on here.
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The problem with the public space argument is that as the public space has been corrupted and become untrusted people leave it for other smaller, niche arenas then opinions are more likely to become more atomised as they are no longer aired and shared in a truly public space thus helping form part of a healthy ongoing dialectic. Yes, these places like Substack are healthy for the vital maintenance of free speech, but they're hardly public squares. You have to actively go looking for them and they are always at risk of becoming echo chambers themselves. No personal fan of Elon Musk, but I like to think what he at least professes to want to do with a currently major platform like Twitter helps to address this issue. Only time will tell there obviously.
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Well, sadly, Matthew Goodwin is dead right here. A small proportion of usually well to do individuals with white saviour complexes and luxury belief systems are disproportionately able to influence our media, social media and institutions and they are, effectively, ceaselessly agitating for the rights of another small proportion to be able to do the same by obsessing about the one thing that makes them different rather than the myriad of things that make them the same as everyone else. These fearless slayers of successive confected imaginary foes are seeking out seemingly ever smaller and smaller minority groups and essentially suggesting a deliberate societal and institutional concerted effort designed to actively discriminate against them when most people have far more serious everyday personal concerns. It seems to be a rather all too successful modus operandi, nevermind a lucrative one in terms of leeching off the public purse. All this does, of course, is help to sow division and resentment in what would otherwise be a relatively harmonious, civilized, equitable if eternally imperfect society so one can't help feeling sometimes that this relatively small 'elite's' intentions are either severely misguided or, worse, downright malign.
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Unless you plan to vote positively in the next election ie FOR a party and manifesto you broadly believe in rather than AGAINST another, then I think people shouldn't vote at all this time round. Personal choice obviously, but a mass abstention is the thing most likely to send a message to our political classes that enough is enough. A Labour government is highly likely next time round anyway so rather than give it a landslide because you understandably have nothing but contempt for the Tories just stay at home or failing that, if you must, just draw a willy on your ballot paper. Failing that, if you have the option, vote for the SDP.
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