tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post1347003126415568946..comments2024-03-28T09:45:17.708+00:00Comments on WEMBLEY MATTERS: Political Literacy – An end to apathy?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post-13006339511390931142016-12-21T16:05:01.722+00:002016-12-21T16:05:01.722+00:00Well-intentioned, but a pitch for political litera...Well-intentioned, but a pitch for political literacy needs also to be literacy-literate. some proof-reading necessary here. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129943063330427887.post-4507289503302633572016-12-21T13:56:50.034+00:002016-12-21T13:56:50.034+00:00The term 'political literacy' dates back I...The term 'political literacy' dates back I believe, in truncated form, at least to the 1980's when Tony Benn spoke of 'politaracy'. He defined it then as people knowing their rights and knowing how to get them.<br /><br />That differs substantially from the modern reality of people being intimidated out of claiming benefits owed to them, as outlined at Kate Belgrave's blog post <a href="http://www.katebelgrave.com/2016/12/people-who-need-help-most-back-away-from-it-now-applying-for-benefits-housing-etc-is-too-torturous/" rel="nofollow">People who need help actively avoid seeking it now. Applying for benefits, housing, etc, is too torturous</a>, and the lack of bargaining power in making a Universal Credit 'Claimant Commitment' outlined by Scottish Unemployed Workers Network: <a href="https://scottishunemployedworkers.net/2016/12/18/over-a-barrel/" rel="nofollow">Over a barrel</a>.<br /><br />When benefit claimants come together in a sense of class consciousness, it is callous government that becomes recognised as shameful.<br /><br />'Universal Credit' has been deemed 'too big to fail' by Labour before Corbyn's leadership; yet 'Universal Credit' in current practice is a sign that Western civilisation as defined by such policies indicates that the values of government as over-parent are an indictment on the parenting that our supposed 'betters' have been raised to implement.<br /><br />Alan Wheatley -- aka 'Dude Swheatie of Kwug'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com