Part Four: Diagnosis

Neil Lock is a highly intelligent man with some sound and some crazy ideas. He considers himself a free-thinking libertarian. He’s a climate change denier, doesn’t believe there’s any problem with species diversity and is an antivaxxer. He believes all politicians are parasitic and evil self-servers. He is a Brexiteer and antiglobalist who thinks the EU and UN are evil institutions bordering on tyranny.

I find myself disagreeing with most of this and yet agreeing with some.

Why don’t you read his long rant for the Libertarian (A bunch of people I’m very leery of) and what I have to say and weigh it up for yourself?

Gosh Neil! This is a very long and convoluted rant, some of which I agree with and some I don’t – just as you would expect. I will try to address my views in order.

1. Your ecological views are well entrenched. You contend there is no evidence and no concerns over climate change and biodiversity. You see it as a global conspiracy. I find that absurd. To imagine that the diverse nations across the world could agree on anything is obviously ridiculous. To think that they’ve got together to create a conspiracy over global issues is absurd. What on earth would be their motive?
   As a biologist I see massive evidence of biodiversiy loss right across the world. Nature is in a bad way and unless we take action we will be in big trouble. We are utterly dependant on nature. It’s one web.
   In the UK the plentiful meadows of my youth full of a rich tapestry of flowers, insects and life are now drab and silent.
   You brush off the extraordinary flooding, droughts and bushfires as normal. They are just the start.
   I’m seeing species creep as plants and animald move north as the planet warms. Soon many places will be uninhabitable and we’ll have mass migrations of people.
   Your premise of putting people before nature is flawed. We are part of nature and utterlt dependant upon it. If the web of life dies so do we. Apart from the morality of treating creatures with respect it is in our own interests to do so. They not only enrich our lives but create the biosphere of which we are part.
2. I thoroughly agree that the Tories have brought in laws to attempt to restrict our freedoms and rights. They are trying to curb our right to strike and protest, to oppose.
   My biggest concern is their attempt to control all the media. That is the road to tyranny.
   As for me – Brexit has created the biggest impact on my rights. I no longer have the right to travel freely without red-tape, queues and extra costs. Adds a whole new dimension of bureaucracy and cost to travel, Must be hell for businesses. No wonder so many are going under and prices going up! Brexit was a tissue of lies from the start. The reality is every bit as bad as predicted.
3. I agree with the first 4 of your paradigms and most of 5.
4. I agree that the Tories have been treating us with contempt and exploiting us. They’ve been robbing us to feather their nests and give to wealthy cronies who they represent. While there is not much to choose between political parties no party has ever been as corrupt and sleazy as this present government. Between Trump and Johnson there’s not much to separate.
   I don’t agree about the ‘Nanny State’ though. Most people are none too bright and need help and direction. It’s a question of degree. We can’t just cater for the intelligent and informed. We have to direct the less intelligent and ill-informed or we all suffer.
5. All big institutions have faults, but they also have benefits. The EU and UN are no exception. We see with Brexit the loss of benefits. We are much worse off with the collaboration and unity. I put my faith in the benefits of the UN and EU. They need scrutiny, accountability and reform but….
6. Bridgen is a nutcase but still deserves a voice. I am not in favour of cancel culture. We need free debate.
   As to what to do about the stupidity of conspiracy theories, propaganda and deliberate lies on the internet. It’s a cesspit of misinformation and deliberate lies, often targeted by alogorithms. It means that people are led down paths to reinforce their own prejudices with convincing false science and propaganda. It breeds flat-earthers, covid deniers, environmental catastrophe deniers and Trump believers. People really do believe in swamps, alien lizards and QAnon nonsense. We are all affected by it. The alogorithms reinforce the views we want to believe in. You can always dig up the evidence to back up your own prejudices. Most of it is nonsense or deliberate misinformation put out to make money or gain power. It’s a minefield.
   It breeds disintegration into vicious tribalism and undermines cohesion. That could be extremely bad. We see it with Trump and his nonsense. America is a crazy place. To promote division to the point of civil war for personal gain is crazy. Nothing could be much worse than America in civil war.
   7 Globalism is a problem. Things are best done on scale for both effectiveness and cost. Most of our big problems – from pollution, crime, trafficking, global warming, poverty, war and human rights – have a truly global nature and cannot be dealt with locally or by countries acting alone. They require a global response.
   How to produce an effective global institution to deal with these without it becoming a tyranny is the big question.
   I think there has to be scrutiny and accountability in there!
7. Yes our politicians, due to their lies, selfishness and greed, have totally lost our trust and respect.
8. Yes we have a sham democracy. The control of the media, blatant propaganda and lack of political education and awareness, coupled with stifled debate, has led to a mockery of democracy.
9. I’ve lost faith in democracy altogether. The population as a whole is undereducated, ignorant and far too gullible. They don’t know enough to see the consequences.
10. I don’t buy your subspecies idea. We humans are all basically the same. We are fundamentally tribal, racist, hierarchical and violent. Civilisation is a thin veneer of decency over a seething mess. We saw with Brexit how the unpleasant suppressed racism surged to the top through perceived empowerment.
11. Biologically evolution does not happen in a few generations. (I presume you were referring to Darwin’s finches) It happens through thousands of generations through a multitude of tiny mutations and natural selection.
12. I would agree that the majority of humans, of all races, are peaceful, truthful and honest – but a sizeable minority have never been. They have always been the ones that turn over the apple cart. We have never successfully dealt with this minority so we have rape, pillaging, wars and theft.
    Nowadays we seem to elect these psychopaths and sociopaths to high office where they rape and pillage with impunity (Bolsonaro, Trump, Johnson, Oban, Modi, Putin, Xi, Meloni, Erdogan and a host of others).
    When will we ever learn?