It might surprise some, but I am not very interested in the MP expenses scandal. It is of course true that some MPs claimed much more than absolutely necessary, but why would we expect them do to differently? The pursuit of wealth is accepted by the majority. Selfless actions are perhaps highly spoken off, but less actually done. But how can we call for MP’s to act selflessly? That would be a selfish thing to do – and therefore hypocritical!

In fact this whole issue is a distraction and an extension of finding someone to blame for economic woes, especially since attacking bankers has become boring. I am far more concerned with the authoritarian legislation that has been passed by the present government, illegal wars, trade and cooperation with countries that use torture, etc. A recent, more important issue: the recent Simon Signh libel case…

Update: Of course, I recklessly assumed that hypocritical criticism is a problem. We could call for politicians to be selfless to serve our own interests – and this is happening. The question is then: do we admit to ourselves that we are hypocrites? This is unlikely. The result is we lie to ourselves, saying “we are unselfish” and “politicians should be too!” – this also keeps the illusion of universal morality in tact. What is needed to replace this is a deeper debate on what type of person do we want as politicians and what exactly is the point in the state?…

Anti Citizen One