One of the main reasons the Nazis were able to seize power in Germany was a growing sense of disorder that high unemployment and national impoverishment were creating. Even today the Germans remain the epitome of order.
Well ordered societies have long been common in northern Europe. And Britain is, or was one of those societies. It was a nation where most people knew their place through class.
Now that class in the UK has been fractured largely by the nouveau riches, immigrants and the empowerment of the working class through unions and the ballot box that sense of order has faded, at least subliminally until now.
The rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) is an expression of frustration with the establishment political parties in not creating jobs, ceding home rule to the European Union while fostering growing disorder in large sections of the population. The reason UKIP did so well is the just held local elections was due to siphoning votes from the Tories, Labour and LibDems.
I'm not building up to saying UKIP has anything to do with the Nazi Party of Germany. It doesn't. But the immigrant card it's now playing, while possibly valid, is the same card that many nations including America are now playing. And the one also played by the Nazis...in a far more radical and barbaric fashion.
Hitler claimed Germany needed more living room for its growing population. And he also said all non indigenous Germans would have to go. We all know into what that eventually resulted.
The UK population has increased by 10.5 million since 1960 when it was 52.4 million. This is a rather reasonable figure considering the US population has nearly doubled since 1960.
The predicament that all the major political parties have in the UK and well as the USA, is maintaining the façade that better days are just around the corner...just give us more time. A major flaw with this claim is that capitalism isn't a benevolent philosophy. It works to maximize profits while minimizing expenses. And a prime way to cut expenses is cut the workforce. Today we in the West not only have to contend with Asia taking our jobs, but there's creeping automation, too.
Simple math tells an obvious story. If the UK currently has an eight percent (depending how you figure it) unemployment rate, what will it be like in 10 years-time when the population will most certainly increase by an unknown figure? If enough jobs can't be created now, what will the future be like?
This forms the nut of the UKIP argument, one that bears some validity. If unrestricted EU immigration continues from where will the jobs and welfare benefits be coming?
The party's main commitment is to get the UK out of the EU, which it considers an undemocratic and unworkable federation. On this score UKIP is remarkably Thatcherite in character. The late prime minister had long warned against EU federalism.
More and more the UK population sees its democratic will being ignored by the political establishment. And more people see once well ordered Britain turning to disorder and incivility. And this is before the welfare tap is turned down. They feel powerless since democracy is failing them. That's where UKIP enters the frame.
It promises to immediately arrange the long stalled referendum on EU membership, one which polls show a strong majority for leaving the union. By dumping the EU, the country will not be subject to EU open immigration law and will be able to regulate who and how many come here.
I personally feel the EU is doomed to eventual failure. If it has this much trouble in relatively affluent times, how will it handle spiraling unemployment, more national bailouts coupled with social breakdown when things will get really bad? The result: The same disorder that plagued the League of Nations. The union will remain viable only if it benefits its members.
But that's if/when question. The UK needs an answer now. And the answer most of the population agrees with is: Nations should be allowed to control their own destinies and not be vassals of some super state which forces undemocratic rules and laws on it against popular will and national well being.
Voters from across the social spectrum are buying into this view and see UKIP as the party that will at least pressure the Tories to bring forth that long stalled popular vote on EU membership. If this does happen it will be a victory for democracy...the fact that UK politicians will be giving in to popular will, something they frequently seem to dismiss with ease.