The Economist Asia Edition – July 27, 2019

12 The EconomistJuly 27th 2019

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Letters

On conservatives’ conscience

If, as you say, conservatism is

in crisis, it is a crisis of its own

making (“The self-preservation

society”, July 6th). For the past

50 years at least, conservatives

in America and Britain have

engaged in a deliberate policy

of dog-whistling, pandering,

and often actively reaching out

to nativists, racists,

misogynists, anti-Semites,

xenophobes and homophobes,

echoing their words, adopting

their ideas and furthering their

influence. They didn’t merely

tolerate these people; they

encouraged them and recruit-

ed them.

From Enoch Powell’s Rivers

of Blood speech to Richard

Nixon’s Southern Strategy,

from Ronald Reagan’s courting

of the “moral majority” to

Margaret Thatcher speaking of

Britain being “swamped by

people with a different cul-

ture”, conservative politicians

tacitly supported odious ideas,

bringing those ideas ever more

into the political mainstream.

A philosophy once merely

suspicious of change became

one that resented and resisted

change. Parties once known for

their tolerance became identi-

fied with ethnic nationalism.

This was no accident; it was the

result of decades of deliberate

policy. The ascent of such

figures as Donald Trump and

Nigel Farage is the natural

consequence.

Because of a desire to retain

power, conservatives pandered

to the worst elements in our

societies. Now they pretend to

be shocked that those elements

have taken over their parties. It

is hard to have any sympathy

for them.

david howard

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The abandonment of exchange

controls after Thatcher’s elec-

tion victory in 1979, the

dramatic deindustrialisation

and tidal wave of unemploy-

ment that followed and the

subsequent mass privatisation

of public utilities were compo-

nents of an economic revolu-

tion that was neoliberal in

theory, not conservative. It was

Thatcher, initially a Europhile

(but edging towards Euroscep-

ticism in her later years) who

helped to launch this neo-

liberal revolution. Its archi-

tects then set about Europe,

inspiring the Single European

Act, the single currency and

free movement. In Britain

there has since been a seamless

procession of neoliberal lead-

ers in the main parties, all high

priests of the new faith.

This was all opposite to the

tenets of Michael Oakeshott’s

conservatism, which you cited:

“family, church, tradition,

local association to control

change and slow it down” and,

most significantly, the perils of

sweeping away institutions.

kelvin hopkins, mp

House of Commons

London

Given Oakeshott’s definition of

conservatism, isn’t it possible

that the current populist

spasm is an understandable

response to extreme circum-

stances rather than, as you

claim, a repudiation of its

history? Globalisation, though

inevitable and beneficial,

brings the unfamiliar and the

distant rather closer than

many feel comfortable with.

On its own this would not be

enough to cause the ructions

we are experiencing, but

combine it with wage

stagnation, austerity and a

blinkered repudiation of the

progressive-liberal tools need-

ed to improve things, then the

necessary conditions for a

great disruption are in place.

phil badger

Barnsley, South Yorkshire

I have never met a conserva-

tive. The people I meet have

very little idea what they think

or why they think it. They

attach themselves to some

collective identity and wish

destruction on those who

attach themselves somewhere

else. What remains is the urge

to purge something for its

foreignness or impureness.

Walter Benjamin wrote about

“the destructive character” in

1931, which demolishes estab-

lished practice without con-

cern for what will replace it.

marcus bullock

Madison, Wisconsin

Settinga value

Thearticleon“Richpeople’s

problems”inTheWorldIf

supplement(July6th)asserted

thatthe“trickierpartsof

investmentportfoliostovalue

include...artandantiques,

and...privatelyheld

businesses”.No,it’seasy.

Foranyassetthatdoesnot

havea valueinanarm’slength

market,theownershouldbe

freetodeclareanyvalueand

paytaxbasedonthatvalua-

tion.However,sucha valua-

tionshouldbedeemedto

implywillingnesstosellthe

assetatthatpricetoanyone,

includingthestateTreasury.

Anyassetthatisconcealed

fromthetaxauthorities,if and

whenit comestolight,should

bedeemedtobevaluedatzero

andavailableforpurchaseat

thatvaluebytheTreasury.

avinashdixit

Emeritusprofessorof

economics

PrincetonUniversity

Princeton,NewJersey

Cotton puff

Many of Uzbekistan’s farmers

would no doubt love to grow

fruit and veg in place of cotton

(“Ready, steady, reform”, July

6th). They are unable to do so

because of the system of man-

datory state orders, inherited

from Soviet times. If you fail to

deliver the mandated cotton

quota to the state you lose your

leasehold. Revenues from the

cotton harvest are reputed to

be funnelled through semi-

private government-linked

trading companies; abolishing

the quotas would hurt these

powerful entities.

Émigré groups such as the

Uzbek-German Forum for

Human Rights document how

forced labour, sometimes

consisting of doctors, teachers

and other state employees,

continues in the harvest,

despite the government’s

claim to have eradicated it. On

a separate point, hundreds of

families across the country

have lost their homes in the

past two years without

compensation or effective

recourse, to make way for

shady developments. Real

reform begins with enforce-

able property rights for the

many, not just for the few.

cassandra cavanaugh

New York

Nazi operations in America

The landing of a German

U-boat on the coast of Labrador

in 1943 was not “the only

known Nazi military operation

on North American soil” (“Eye

of the storm”, July 6th). In June

1942 the Nazi’s Operation

Pastorius landed eight

saboteurs on a beach near

Amagansett, Long Island, and

at a beach in north Florida. The

men were arrested some two

weeks later after one of the

saboteurs, George Dasch, had

second thoughts and tele-

phoned the fbi.

Six were executed in Au-

gust. Dasch and another sabo-

teur received life sentences but

were later granted clemency by

Harry Truman and deported.

The Nazis also landed two

intelligence agents on the

coast of Maine in late 1944.

jason gart

Director of litigation research

History Associates

Rockville, Maryland

Work is good for the soul

Regarding workaholism

(Bartleby, June 29th), working

hard is not just about money.

People in all walks of life want

to feel a sense of purpose,

which is derived largely from

the work that we do. We work

less when we dislike our jobs.

When we find something truly

meaningful, working hard

comes naturally. John Maynard

Keynes was barking up the

wrong tree with his hopes for a

15-hour work week. Perhaps he

would have felt differently if he

had been a stonemason or an

artist, rather than a practi-

tioner of the dismal science.

ryan notz

London