by Michael Gove has offered a new and broader definition of “extremism” at a time when established political parties cannot address the needs and or reflect the political opinions of the majority of people, particularly the working class. Instead the government, aided and abetted by the opposition, resorts to repressive measures to obscure their inadequacies and preserve their status.
The definition offered is:
“Extremism is the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to:
1. negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; or
2. undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights; or
3. intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in (1) or (2).”
The first point overlooks the state’s use of violence to maintain its existence and the government’s pursuit of its own illegal wars and support of genocide in Gaza. It is an attempt to suppress alternative political ideas – prosecuting people for political discussion and publications. We can see this already in the efforts to suppress pro-Palestinian and climate change protests. Both the Tories and the “Labour” Party are now demanding in near hysterical terms that the police arrest people for organising pro-Palestinian actions. Given that the current neo-liberal set of political parties intends a further demolition of public and local government services together with the denial of essential health services, we can expect this definition to apply to many more organisations and campaigns opposed to these cuts.
This is an effort to use police measures to further insulate the establishment from any substantive criticism or alternative political ideas, leaving the neo-liberal consensus unchallenged.
