After the financial crisis exposed flaws in capitalism and the MPs expenses scandal the inherent corruption in the democratic system; the crisis in the media underlines just how morally bankrupt institutional pillars of the capitalist ideology really are.
Any society or ideology has to be judged not by what it says but by how it acts. A contradiction between words and actions would rightly be labelled as hypocrisy.
This is a label that has over the recent past been worn unashamedly by the Western democratic system. Numerous wars and the ‘dodgy’ reasons for them have for most created a sense of mistrust not only of politicians but also the system itself. However in spite this reality there has always been a sense of the West holding some kind of moral high ground over the rest of the world. The excuse has always been not to focus so much on the ‘How’ but the ‘Why’; so Afghanistan and Iraq were about ‘freeing’ the ordinary people, speaking on behalf of those who are voiceless and instilling a set of progressive democratic values in those who have known nothing but backwardness.
This is the kind of narrative the press along with politicians in the UK have been peddling for many years and has formed the cornerstone of their anti-Islam and interventionist agenda. Ideas such as a capitalist styled corporate economy, freedom of the press and the individual have all been used to highlight the great virtues of western liberalism.
However when examined in the cold light of day the very values which are supposed to save the Muslim world are themselves found wanting. The well publicised problems at the News of the World (NOTW) have really put the whole democratic system and society under the microscope. From the obvious immorality of individuals to the failure of the political and crime fighting institutions in dealing with the hacking of private phones serious concerns have been raised. Although there has been much focus on Rupert Murdoch, Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks the issues at NOTW transcend the actions of an individual or a corporate business.
The phone hacking scandal goes to the very core of what is wrong with Cameron’s ‘Broken Britain’, it is broken simply because of the principles upon which it has been built. These principles of materialism, freedom and the pursuit of goals at any cost have built a whole society of individuals who think very little of the affect of their actions on others. Hacking the phone of dead schoolgirl Milly Dowler was for those involved simply the way to a better pay day. The police officers selling information to NOTW were following the ‘capitalist dream’ where money equates to happiness and Rebekah Brooks has been maximising the corporate interests of NOTW.
It is nonsensical to believe that a society which in essence has no moral barometer for right and wrong can be given the motivation to pursue wealth and position without disastrous outcomes.
The true irony for those hell bent on global regime change such as David Cameron is that the NOTW has exposed the democratic political system as being nothing more than a tool in the hands of the corporate elite. The lessons from the last week or so are clear; democracy and western liberalism are not ideas upon which to build a society.
Despite the political rhetoric the Muslim world has no need for a corrupted, immoral system such as liberal democracy. If anything only the implementation of Islam at a state level can show all of humanity how to live in a manner where the privacy of everyone is protected and the government is not influenced by those with corporate power.
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