British budget protesters are like protesters in Egypt or something

It is simplistic to assume that protests in the west and the Middle East are fundamentally different because “they” are fighting “blood-soaked” despots while “we”, after all, live in liberal democracies. Without obscuring real political differences, let us reflect on some overlaps between the open despotism of Arab regimes and our politicians’ behaviour. While our defanged democracies provide ballot boxes, elected representatives feel free to ignore mass demonstrations and work against the general wellbeing, deploying lies and hysteria where necessary (from WMDs to “we are broke”). As Truthout’s Richard Lichtman argues, “managed” democracies can avoid the appearance of suppression while substantively “terminating democracy”. It is perfectly possible to crush collective demands, push millions into unemployment and deprive people of fair wages and benefits while adhering to democratic letter if not spirit.

Both capitalist democracies and dictatorships use political means to concentrate wealth, power and privilege. In Britain and the US, the right to fight corporate power collectively – and effectively – through unions is under ongoing attack. In Britain, the state uses demonisation, brute force and disproportionate punishment to contain mass demonstrations and talks of making some peaceful means illegal. In the US, Democratic legislators resisting anti-union measures, which were then forced through anyway, were threatened with arrest. Britain has seen policies destroying public services hastily enacted without a clear mandate while civil liberties are constantly eroded and inequalities expand. If Gaddafi screams “imperialism” when things get sticky, our politicians find it convenient to denounce “multiculturalism”. What unites the interdependent ruling elites of Britain and Bahrain is the priority they give to the entitlement of the few at the expense of the many, often embodied by dodgy business deals.