Wrote something over at 1/200 on a familiar theme of mine:
The way we frame the economy as a separate, sacred force which must be sacrificed to, the way we talk about criminals as invaders who must be repelled, the constant othering of people on the benefit, people not in paid work, people who will never be in paid work or at least not “real” paid work. (“We’re backing the police to crack down on violent gangs!”)
We cannot buy into the Right’s framing, because it is the Right’s frame. If you’ve ever wondered why so many people – sensible, reasonable people – hold true to the idea that the National Party are good sensible fiscal managers and Labour are just tax-and-spend profligates, and therefore The Sacred Economy does better under National than Labour, despite decades of evidence to the contrary, congratulations: you’ve discovered the power of frames.
And importantly, critically, inarguably, vitally, carved into the bedrock of the Earth-ly: we cannot win using the frames of the Right. We do not, in fact, have to hand it to them. We will never succeed if we try to suck up to the dominant narrative about tax, wealth, productivity, and the value of human life, promising ourselves that one day – any day now – we’ll turn on a dime and change the story.
Stephanie Rodgers 