Muddle-headed neo-liberals
A neo-liberal is one who thinks that people should have maximum freedom of action, unconstrained by the state or institutions. This sounds entirely laudable, until you realise that it undercuts any rule of law ("unconstrained by the state"). A neo-liberal is not a liberal (a person with liberal views), and we mustn't let the similarity of the two terms confuse us. A liberal believes in freedom of action within the existing law. Clearly, then, a battleground arises over what is allowed and not allowed by the law. Neo-liberals want to wear away the constraints of the law, to give themselves more freedom of action, whereas liberals want to use the permissions they already have - embodied in law - to further the interests of their community. It was absorbing, therefore, to hear two fully committed participants, one on each side of this argument, debating Jeremy Corbyn's proposal to make empty property available to those made homeless by the Grenfell Tower disaster. The li...