LAST MONTH we featured a guest article – Daylight Robbery! – by Darwin Grey, a young supporter of monetary reform. He examined the current banking system (where the banks can create money out of thin-air and demands it, and more, in return) and concluded that it was one of “debt-slavery.”

But simply rejecting such a system is not enough. What should it be replaced by?

Darwin rejected the two main economic theories (Keynesian and Monetarist) and looked for what might be termed an economic ‘Third Way’ – an idea that went way beyond these two. He found it in Social Credit, a radical and progressive economic theory first proposed by Major Clifford Hugh Douglas. To read Darwin’s original article on debt-slavery, click here: http://nationalliberal.org/daylight-robbery

This is the second of Darwin’s article’s looking at various aspects of Social Credit. Heritage: The Fourth Factor of Production looks at the moral justification for a national dividend as well as pointing out more flaws in Classical as well as Marxist economics.

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Even Batman knows that the banks are on the fiddle!

ACCORDING to orthodox economics, there are three factors of production; land, labour and capital.

CALEDONIAN VOICE was the first national publication produced by the National Liberal Party way back in July of last year. Hopefully, issue 2 will be out in the not too distant future.

This review of CV has been written by Liam Clarke. As with his previous article The Agenda (click here to view it: http://nationalliberal.org/the-agenda) Liam’s review is full of passion, sincerity and is highly personal.

Whilst not everyone will agree with everything he says, especially on what constitute a nation or what a Westminster Parliament represents, eaders should know that discussion is absolutely free with the NLP. You can leave any feedback – good, bad or indifferent – on our National Liberal debate page. Check it out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/52739504313/

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I FIND it beyond belief that David Cameron does not take seriously the threat (posed by the Scottish National Party) to the break up of the United Kingdom. While it is true that the majority of people in Scotland are against leaving the UK, the most passionate are the opposition – those who want independence. Therefore, when the vote eventually does arrive they will be out in force.

• WE ALSO understand that our friends at Fourth World Review (4WR) are looking for reviews of their most recent publications. We can supply FREE pdf review copies of issues 153, 154 and 155. Please return your review to the above e-mail address as 4WR have requested that all reviews go on the Liberty Wall first.

One of Jason's recent poems together with accompanying artwork. This appeared in issue 155 (Summer/Autumn 2013) of Fourth World Review.

IT’S OFTEN been said that any political change (or revolution) has to be preceeded by a cultural change (or revolution.)

One man who articulated this view in great depth was the Italian anti-fascist Antonio Gramsci. According to the well-known and popular Counter Culture (1) web-site:

“Gramsci had been a Communist opponent of Mussolini who was imprisoned by the fascists. During his imprisonment he formulated many of his ideas and wrote them down in what were to become his Prison Notebooks. Much can be learned from a study of his work.

He put forward the view that the Fascists had come to power because what we would now call the ‘cultural landscape’ was favourable to the development of their political position. We can now take this concept further – the key element in the forthcoming struggle will be a battle for domination of key ‘concept’ areas. We do not intend to lose.”

To date the National Liberal Party has largely concentrated on political education and outreach. This is because we’re a relatively small and new organisation (and sadly, we can’t do everything at once!) On saying this, we’re acutely aware that we must start to do more on the cultural level. Indeed, it’s vitally important that we also view, analysise and deconstruct any art forms which attack values and positions which we support.

With this in mind, we’re glad to say that a small start in the right direction has been made by the NLPs (and Fourth World Review’s) resident poet, Jason Jesuthasan. For Jason’s first book of poems – Poetic Affusion – has just been published by Fast Print Publishing, Peterborough, England. At over 100 pages it seems to cover every subject under the sun! This is recognised in the Introduction to Poetic Affusion:

“His poems of dreams, romance, infatuations, disappointments, rage, fear, guts, wit and scepticism were all shaped by the people, places, predudices, pleasures, values, beliefs, tradition and faith into which he was born, lived, dreamed of and aspired for.”

Speaking to the NLP web-site, Jason, who has obtained Public Administration (B.A. Hons) and International Relations (M.A.) degrees from Essex University (1978-1982) and a MBA in Health Management programme with Hull University (2002 – 2005), noted:

“An immigrant always leads a dual and divided life. Despite tremendous struggle faced and strides taken to integrate into the host community, one half of his mind and soul looks back to the homeland and loved ones he left behind. This life of turmoil acquires a special dimension and added agony when the homeland he left behind and people he loved dearly drawn into a bloody civil war for more than three decades.

When one’s village of birth gets 24 hours notice to vacate and the people therein overnight become permanently displaced as wandering refugees, homeless and starving; with infirm elderly and babies having no access to health care and the youth living in constant fear of being taken for interrogation, detention and indefinite incarceration for being an ethnic minority; then an immigrant who was part of the very nest which being dismantled violently gets hurt, bleeds profusely within and finds an avenue to share that agony; and if possible bring that agony out into the open and attempts to globalize it for a single reason: To prevent it ever happening elsewhere.

Roots of my poetry lie in that tiny, agony filled coastal village – my ancestral village – which today has no trace. In 2001, with a help of a military escort I was allowed a 30 minute peep into my once beautiful village. What I saw that day, I penned into a poem the very same night. That is how the poem Travel of a Baby Cloud was born.

But soon followed many poems of similar sentiments, not just rooted in the conflict of my own country of origin, but wherever there was war and armed conflict in progress, my poetic brain began to relate to them much quickly, in blood and soul. Hence born poems like War Widows, Children of War, Behind Barbed Wires and many more.

Once I recognised the poetic instincts within me, I let it travel with the wind, with the sun rays, with ocean waves to reach the parts thus far I never envisaged to reach and capture the sentiments, issues and fears into a poetry form.

To be a real poet, one must master the art of balancing sentimentality and resultant emotions with a detachment approach to what is being captured in poetry. So, soon followed many poems on governance, sources of human sufferings including poverty and hunger; violence against women where the ideal state I would like to live in was put on parade.

The world of today revolves not just around the sun, though that may be true from a solar system perspective; but the real world we live revolves around some of the age old issues which for lack of human focus to tackle them for good, keep coming round us, such as: hunger, poverty, epidemics, state violence, wars, violence against children and women, the list goes on.

A poet cannot simply close his eyes and script poetic interludes of sun, sky, moon, the gentle breeze and snow covered mountain and the wintry chill. Poetry must go beyond them to bring odes of human sufferings and the inability of humanity to address such recurrent issues. Such a noble vision must always be kept at the heart of poetry and literature, not just in English but in all cultures and literature.

If I want to encapsulate my dreams for tomorrow poetically in few verses, it will read like this:

Let a new era begin,

Be it free of famine,

Let a new day dawn

Be that free of killing zones,

Let a new season bloom

When we bury all gloom!”

We would specifically like to wish Jason well and hope that Poetic Affusion (2) sells well. He has offered to contribute to the party for every copy you buy! Generally we’d like to encourage all NLP members and supporters to engage in cultural activities of all types.

As Antonio Gramsci noted all those years ago we need to ensure that the ‘cultural landscape’ is favourable to the development of our political position. Let the cultural war begin!

(1) http://countercultureuk.com/

(2) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1780353936/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=#_

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SOME of you know me as the YoungPoliticalRadical, others know me without my screen name – simply as Robert.

For the last six years I have been involved in the political system of this nation, and for six years I have seen it become steadily less about the voters, and more about the political ambitions of the 1%.

When I started off – I started as a Conservative – something I regret now.

At 15 I was a young conservative in Scotland – a rare thing to say, but back then David Cameron was proclaiming hope for the British people after the failings of the labour party to protect the people of this country against the greed of the bankers, or the greed of itself.

Never in my younger life could I have imagined our nation targeting the sick and disabled, and giving a French IT company power over Doctors to decide the fate of those who require benefits to survive.

In this article I will outline the cruel bully tactics used by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to force the bill down on Welfare unjustly and inhumanely.

In my younger years I suffered from severe depression which often sparked suicidal delusions – I know what it’s like to be in the position of someone with no hope, and I was luckier than most: my still developing personality, that naturally most teenagers evolve, was able to combat the majority of the more serious side-effects of depression. I had a strong support network of friends, hobbies and family – unfortunately some are not so lucky.

It is for those who cannot speak or have had their voices crushed that I make this for.

The Welfare reforms of this country have been harsh, and have targeted the entirely wrong demographic; rather than attempting to give people hope or practical solutions to unemployment, the politically motivated DWP have begun a crusade against anyone they deem to be below their expectations of an ideal citizen – this is the new British genocide.

ATOS, a French company with very little practical experience in the medical sector, now have the power to send the most sick and disabled back to work.

Since the start of the power-mad Conservative reign we have seen our rights slowly, but surely, taken from us with little or no word from the press; the NHS is on its way to becoming a private sector asset in England and Wales; benefits no longer supply a sufficient income with real-term inflation rising beyond that of most of our European brother and sister nations.

Could you imagine receiving multiple surgeries to treat a life threatening condition that inflicted you with vast quantities of pain on a daily basis, and then told you were perfectly fit for work? I couldn’t, and I doubt many of those reading who have never experienced the pain of a broken body would either.

At one point our nation was once for moral freedoms and using the state to lift up those who needed assistance rather than crushing those who have no option to die.

Then we have the bedroom tax – the most insane and poor conceived taxation method to ever hit Europe – punishing people who require extra bedrooms for medical equipment; who have lost family members; or who worked for the majority of their life only to get the boot due to the economic nuclear assault caused by the greed of the pigs at the trough.

I believe we need welfare reform, however, not at this scale, nor at the demographic that is currently being targeted: the disabled, sick and young; those either too inexperienced, or too medically weak to pose much resistance to the government.

Do I feel that some levels of disability should require working? Yes.

My vision for the disabled that could potentially work is that they find an environment that fully complies with their needs; or alternatively I am a huge fan of ‘work from home’ methodology where those who suffer from anxiety related to public interaction are given light jobs at home using the power of the internet.

As a business student I see no advantages to forcing those too ill in to the work place; it lowers moral of workers; declines personal choice; can affect the standard of an office environment if someone is forcefully pushed in to a career that they have no chosen.

The David Cameron wonders how many more poor people he can kill off

Recently I attempted to contact those in the medical sector to comment for a much larger and in-depth piece for my own website; it’s extremely hard to find those willing to be outspoken against the DWP due to the bad-press they may receive.

If Doctors are afraid then what chance is there for the rest of us?

The British Medical Association’s Ethics Committee responded to my request for statements, and is as follows:

“BMA position

The BMA has for some time raised concerns about the WCA. We believe that the current process is insufficiently rigorous and consistent, and could cause avoidable harm to some of the weakest and most vulnerable members in our society.

The BMA has called for urgent reform to the WCA based on specific concerns about the system:

The computer-based process used to assess claims makes it very difficult for health professionals carrying out the assessments to exercise their professional judgement effectively. We strongly believe the computer system is in need of urgent reform.

The fact that initial decisions are overturned in almost 40 per cent of appeal cases reinforces these concerns. It means that large numbers of claimants are denied the full level of benefit that they are entitled to until their appeal is heard and a fresh decision is made, leaving many in an intolerable position.

That there has been a lack of progress in implementing the recommendation of the Harrington Report that decision makers should actively consider obtaining further documentary evidence in every case before reaching a final decision. If the recommendation is implemented appropriately, with GPs providing factual information, it should result in better-informed decisions being made about eligibility for ESA by DWP decision makers, earlier in the process. As well as making the system fairer for claimants, this should also significantly reduce the administrative cost of dealing with so many appeals.

What the BMA has done about these concerns:

We responded to the third Harrington review of the Work Capability Assessment call for evidence, outlining our concerns about the process. We will continue to respond to these yearly reviews, which are now being run by Dr Paul Litchfield.

We have held several meetings with the DWP to discuss our concerns.

We wrote to the Employment Minister Mark Hoban to outline our position on the WCA and express disappointment about the lack of progress in implementing the recommendation from the Harrington Report about collecting medical evidence early in the process.

We have produced numerous parliamentary briefings on the BMA’s position on the WCA.

We met with the Disability Benefits Consortium and Citizens Advice Bureau to get their perspective on the issue.

The Scottish GP Committee Chair, Alan McDevitt, gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament in June 2013 about the impact of the government’s welfare reforms and the WCA on general practice and patients.”

I remind readers that the BMA is the highest authority for medical practice in the United Kingdom.

People are dying due to welfare reform.

Our country is dying due to a Conservative government.

• Check out more of Robert’s articles:

The Lies Of Homeless And Social Housing (20 June 2013) http://nationalliberal.org/the-lies-of-homeless-and-social-housing

The Scandal of MPs Expenses (23 July 2013) http://nationalliberal.org/the-scandal-of-mps-expenses

The National Liberal Party – For A Better Future! (14 August 2013) http://nationalliberal.org/the-national-liberal-party-for-a-better-future

Self-Help Or Helpless? (22 August 2013) http://nationalliberal.org/self-help-or-helpless

The New Age British Genocice (26 August 2013) http://nationalliberal.org/the-new-age-british-genocide

LIAM CLARKE – aged 19 and based in South Derbyshire – is yet another new young supporter of the National Liberal Party. It was Liam’s long interest in politics that attracted him to our movement. Through research he discovered the similarities between true or ‘pure’ nationalism and liberalism. He was therefore attracted to the NLPs fusion of classic nationalist and liberal ideas and our position of ‘Neither Left Nor Right’.

Written in a highly resonal and passionate style, this is his first article as a guest writer for our web-site. As usual, we will reproduce this on both of our Facebook sites (National Liberal Party https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Liberal-Party/160937907279184 and National Liberals https://www.facebook.com/groups/52739504313/) and would ask our members and supporters to leave feedback on our National Liberals Facebook page.

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The Agenda

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David Lloyd George (17 January 1863 - 26 March 1945) was a Liberal MP and British Prime Minister during the First World War. He was socially very progressive and introduced the famous 'People's Budget' which introduced the Old Age Pension, and was responsible for the Parliament Act of 1911 which restricted the powers of the House of Lords.

AS WE go about our daily business most of us are oblivious to the collision course on which the British train is set. A collusion course which is programmed by factors which stare us in the face – and laugh!

Since the end of the Second World War, Britain has set itself on the path to suicide. However, every so often we’ve allowed ourselves to escape the grasp of the ‘black dog’ which grips our nation.

One such escape was the introduction of the National Health Service (NHS). For this, we actually have to thank the work of the Liberals in the years preceding the Great War. The NHS is perhaps the greatest system of health care that any government, thoroughout the world, has ever introduced. (For a very brief appreciation of Ernest Brown who, as a Liberal National Minister of Health, commissioned the Beveridge report that ultimately led to the NHS, see here: http://nationalliberal.org/educational-outreach-2)

However, the Labour Party would love to forget the work done by Lloyd George and what I consider to be his his fine government. Why? Because they fear nationalism.

To them nationalism is the hand of racism and dictatorship. Therefore it’s evil. Indeed, not only does just the Labour Party fear nationalism: just the very word nationalism strikes fear into the hearts of many people today.

And it is easy to understand why.

Unfortunately, many ‘brands’ of nationalism are based on racism and dictatorship. Indeed, those on the ‘left’ (socialists and communists) see it as the epitome of all evil.

However, I find this ironic as I believe that these socialist and communists represent perhaps the most evil force brewing in this world today. They would love to see the downfall of Law and Order and loathe all that is Liberal. They shout from the stage ‘freedom of speech’, ‘freedom of the press’ and ‘freedom of religion.’ However, they only endorse (or tolerate) all of these freedoms as long as they fit in with their ideal of unrelenting control and power.

But let us not be blind. What modern ‘nationalism’ evokes are visions of racism, intolerance and death. This is the same the world over – look at the recent history of the Balkans.

These are just a few dangers posed by both the left and right. What left and right extremism can breed is sickening to any sound minded Liberal.

Nonetheless, I believe that liberalism has now also given birth to its own brand of evil. The liberalism of Lloyd George and our forefathers has been grasped, diluted and perverted by both left and right. By their actions they have tried to destroy true liberalism.

It would seem then that any form of nationalism or liberalism is all inherently evil, would it not? By no means! Indeed, I believe that only a synthesis of nationalism and liberalism can save Britain.

Properly harnessed, true nationalism and liberalism can pull us out of this pit of degradation, evil, extremism and self destruction. But only nationalism and liberalism in their ‘pure’ or ‘true’ forms.

When I talk of ‘true’ nationalism, I talk of pride, faith and strength in our country, in our history. We should not be ashamed to shout ‘Britain’ from the highest rooftops! We should not be scared to proclaim the greatness of our country in UN buildings and to the foreign governments of this world.

Ernest Brown (27 August 1881 – 16 February 1962) was another socially progressive Liberal. As a Liberal National Minister of Health, he commissioned the Beveridge report that ultimately led to the NHS. Brown was also responsible for the Unemployment Insurance (Agriculture) Act, 1936 which extended social security to nearly all workers in agriculture, forestry and horticulture

And why is this? Is it because we loathe anything different, fear co-operation with others, fear comradeship? Not in the slightest!

I believe that true nationalism is not formed by racism, intolerance or atheism. It is formed by the belief in the beauty of our nation, in the greatness of its past, and in the hope we have for its future. There is no religion, no ethnicity, no creed which can impede on this nationalism.

My nationalism is one of unity, of brotherhood, of belief that nothing and no one is greater than this country. The Synagogues, the Churches, the Mosques, the Gudwharas (and, indeed, those who have no faith at all) are all united in this pride we have for the Union flag.

My dear friends, what I describe here is not only nationalism, but liberalism.

Complete freedom of faith is essential to the strength of the integrity of our nation. The rise of fringe parties such as the British National Party (BNP) and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) represent a direct attack upon true nationalism. Indeed, the latter have been very successful in hiding their intolerance behind a veil of false nationalism. Nigel Farage launches his tirades of evil on the nation’s TV and people swallow it. His loathing of Eastern Europeans is something to fear. You think I am overreacting? If you think that, then you cannot call yourself a national liberal.

I accept that Britain is so much better without the European Union, which threatens our national identity. Again, I must stress I do not mean by ethnic character but by our culture. Juxtaposition? Not by a long shot. We are bound by our belief in true nationalism to tolerance, to principle, to liberalism and with all our strength against all who seek the destruction of pride in our nation. That is culture. That is liberalism.

For me, true liberalism lies at the very heart of true nationalism.

Despite having found my political home with the National Liberal Party (NLP), I fear. I fear because, without wishing to offend, we are slow. We are apprehensive about making a stand because we do not believe in ourselves.

For instance, take this from the NLPs web-site: “We do not believe that any one party is likely to be able to make a serious challenge for power for many years, if at all, under the present system.” Whereas, this may sound like sound judgement and intelligent thinking, it is not by any stretch of the imagination what we should be saying. How long must we wait to bring this country back off its knees, before we make the decision to derail the suicide train which the left and the right have placed us on?

I agree that this sounds revolutionary and dangerous, but lest we forgot what Robert F. Kennedy once said “Only those who dare to fail greatly will ever succeed greatly.”

For too long in my short life I have witnessed the intolerance of the many, the ignorance of the far left and the far right, the mindless bickering between the big three parties, neither of whom differs from the other nor has the answers to solve the country’s crisis.

The answers are written in the formation of the state. The state which I hold so dear – the state which we were so proud to show off at the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Never was there such a false pride in this country. People have forgotten what it means to be a nationalist in this country, it means of course to be a liberal.

But I believe that we can win through the collective action of national liberals, through recruitment of new members, through organised action and displays of strength and unity against the tide of falsehood and evil which today grips the nation in an iron hand.

As national liberals we should be bound by our principles, by our morals and by our belief and pride in Britain. I personally would never be afraid to cry ‘Rule Britannia!’ in the streets, or to proclaim the sacred words of ‘Long Live the Monarch.’ Because no matter what retaliation you receive, whatever attacks you find yourself, stand tall and proud because you are what this country is, you represent this nation, its past, its present and its future. For as long as I live, as long as I breathe, I will never be ashamed to proclaim the greatness of my country, or to carry the sword of liberalism to every corner of the land.

I am not afraid to carry the NLP banner, and I shall end with telling you my trick why I will never be afraid to carry this banner. Because I vow to thee my country, my heart and my soul, my unrelenting love and faith and all that it stands for, summed up in two words: National Liberalism.