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THE SOCIAL CONTINENCE SYSTEM
"Social Continence will expose the criminals to the free market, not shelter them from
it."
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THE PHILOSOPHY: Social
Continence has been born out of frustration with conventional politics. As we describe on our Home page, all major parties
in the UK merely exist to service the interests of Capital. We have no quarrel with this. In a free-market, capitalist society
operating within the global economy, it could hardly be otherwise. We merely require a little more honesty about where all
this is taking us. For instance, the UK now has the widest gap between rich and poor since Victorian times, along with some
of the worst indicators in areas like health, education and crime in the whole of the developed world. Career-politicians
sometimes mimic a little faux-concern about this state of affairs and promise to do better; yet the harsh truth is that there
is very little they could do about it, even if they wanted to. The
basic dynamic of the capitalist system is to widen the gap between rich and poor, and those who say otherwise (including career-politicians)
have simply no idea what they’re talking about. As capitalism moves rapidly
towards its end-game, we can expect a crisis such as the one we are currently experiencing. Both the USA and UK have in the
past benefited from the willingness of other nations to accept the dollar/sterling as international currency. However, lax
supervision of the banking/financial services sectors within those countries has allowed the supply of credit to outstrip
their productive capacities. While everything was going well and those economies were still growing, naturally no-one complained.
Huge salaries and bonuses which the high-flyers in the financial world dished out to themselves might out have induced
the odd tut-tut of disapproval from the more educated members of the hoi-polloi, but these ‘masters of the universe’
surely knew what they were doing, didn’t they?
Well,
as it turns out, evidently not. It seems that quite a lot of us have been taken for a ride. Or, as the great poet John Cooper-Clarke
once wrote: “Take some bugger for a lump-sum and bugger off to Spain.” Except not even our Spanish friends
have been the beneficiaries of this particular fiasco. The US ‘sub-prime’ crisis has seen countless billions of
dollars disappear into a black hole and the infection has now spread out into the world economy. As a desperate measure, the
US Federal Reserve has slashed interest-rates and bailed out the troubled banks, and the UK, fearing another Northern
Rock episode, has done likewise.
I don’t
know about you, but if I placed a bet with my local bookmaker, watched the bet lose and then demanded my stake-money back,
the only thing I would deserve would be the steel-tipped toe-cap of the bookmaker propelling me down the high street! Yet it seems that those responsible for this debacle, having
already rewarded themselves amply during the years of plenty, are now to be indemnified and cosseted from the consequences
of their failure. A turn of events which to Adam Smith, that pioneer theorist of free-market economics, would have been a
sick joke. The rationale behind this
move is, of course, easily understandable. The banking system underpins the entire economy and is simply too important to
be allowed to fall apart. The problem with this approach is that one sector of our society is being protected from the consequences
of their actions and, if nothing else, this surely contravenes the principles of Political Correctness. The League for Social Continence believes that the maintenance of social order
and the protection of all its citizens from crime should rank equal to the need for economic stability. This will become
even more important as the economic outlook for the UK deteriorates. It is with this in mind that we are attempting to place
the Social Continence system on to the political agenda.
THE SYSTEM: WHAT IS IT? Broadly speaking, Social Continence is a free-market solution to certain categories of crime. It would work best
in a situation in which all drugs are legalised, though this does not necessarily have to be the case. It is aimed at "prevention"
rather than "cure", and it would involve the payment of a "performance-related benefit" to certain designated
groups of people. WHAT IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR? Let
us quickly state that Social Continence is not some magic cure-all solution for every sort of crime. WE ARE CONCERNED ONLY
WITH VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PERSON AND AGAINST PROPERTY (i.e. where there is the physical removal or damage of property). We
are NOT concerned with fraud, credit-card fraud, "white-collar crime" etc. Neither are we concerned with most cases
of "domestic violence", or with certain categories of "sex crime". In other words, we are concerned with
murder, assaults, muggings, petty-theft, armed robbery, burglary, shoplifting, vandalism and general anti-social loutish behaviour.
Let's face it, when most people talk about crime, these are the kind of offences which take up 90% of police time. Or
should do. HOW WOULD IT WORK? The existing
police regions would be split into a number of smaller administrative units: i.e. three or four for each large city, one or
two for rural areas. "Members of the public" would then be invited to apply for the law-enforcement contract in
each unit. ISN'T THIS JUST ANOTHER FORM OF POLICING BY PRIVATE SECURITY? No. In the first place the level of payments made (mostly in arrears) would be strictly controlled
according to performance criteria i.e. the more crime reported within an administrative unit, the less the amount of payment
made (and vice versa). Each category of crime would carry a set number of penalty points, and the level of payments made would
have to be carefully structured to social need. WHO WOULD RECEIVE THESE PAYMENTS? In theory any member of the public could apply to be a "Designated Overall Manager"
(or "DOM"). In practice, however, applicants would have to demonstrate that they are at the centre of an "informal
command structure". YOU MEAN PEOPLE INVOLVED IN ORGANIZED CRIME? That is putting it too bluntly. What we say is this: that firstly, applicants should not be barred
on account of previous criminal conviction, and that secondly, society must be prepared to "wipe the slate clean"
for certain individuals. To issue an amnesty. This will be especially relevant, of course, to people convicted of drugs offences. WHO ELSE MIGHT BE INVOLVED? We envisage an informal hierarchy of three levels: the "DOMS",
a small number of "Lieutenants", and a much larger number of "Enforcers". Whilst the DOMS and the Lieutenants
would be drawn from existing networks, the Enforcers would be recruited from the open labour market. The DOMS and the Lieutenants
would have part-control of a prearranged budget. The Enforcers would be paid weekly by the State at some nominal rate above
benefit level. However, the DOMS would be free to increase the payment to the Enforcers (from their own budget) if they thought
it was necessary. BUT WOULDN'T SUCH A SYSTEM BE OPEN TO THE MOST APPALLING ABUSES? No. Because Social Continence would involve THREE CRUCIAL SAFEGUARDS. 1. All these people - DOMS, Lieutenants and Enforcers - would
be registered with the Police and required to carry an IDENTITY CARD AT ALL TIMES. 2. THE ENFORCERS WOULD BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A DISTINCT UNIFORM
DURING THEIR 'WORKING HOURS' BUT WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO CARRY WEAPONS OF ANY SORT. THEY WOULD ALSO BE SUBJECT
TO POLICE 'STOP AND SEARCH' AT ANY TIME. 3. The function of recording reported crime would be taken out of the hands of the Police entirely and placed under
a separate NATIONAL CRIME REPORTING AUTHORITY (organized on a regional basis to match the Police Authority Areas), administered
and controlled by the Security Services (MI5). Staff working for the NCRA would be rotated, on a geographical basis, at regular
intervals. This system would ensure the maximum possible security, both for the individual citizen and the State. As far as
humanly possible, it would remove the dangers of corruption, collusion and intimidation.
WHAT MAKES YOU SO CONFIDENT
THAT THIS WOULD WORK? Given a reasonable trial period, we are extremely
confident Social Continence would have a beneficial impact because it would be a hierarchical structure imposed from the ‘bottom
up’ of society rather than the ‘top down’. The only ‘top down’ solution which would have any
impact would be to flood the streets with police officers. That’s not going to happen because career-politicians will
tell you that they don’t have the resources. Social Continence would be a lot cheaper because the enforcers could be
paid a lot less than the police. It would be cheaper still if drugs were to be legalised and taxed. The enforcers would also
be able to use methods which are just not available to the police.
ARE YOU TRYING TO SANCTION THE USE OF VIOLENCE? No, not at all. It is important to stress that NO-ONE WOULD BE PLACED ABOVE
THE LAW. What we say is that a certain amount of 'discretion' will have to be used for the greater good. At the present
time, for example, bailiffs and debt-collectors are routinely allowed to 'offer violence'. On the international scene,
Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib haven't exactly sent people rioting to the streets. Magna Carta is
rightly upheld as the lodestar of all personal and civil liberty; yet Magna Carta wasn't the product of
a middle-class vicarage tea-party, but represented a balance of terror between two competing sets of scumbags (the king's
court v the barons). It has obviously worked very well. Yet 800 years later the capitalism it has facilitated (or, at
least the 'Anglo-Saxon' version of it) has produced a large number of people who are frankly not fit to walk the streets.
Something needs to be done. You could say that Social Continence is an attempt to update Magna Carta. Let's
just use some common sense. BUT ISN'T THE IDEA JUST TOTALLY UNPALATABLE? Well, I think it's safe to say that Social Continence will have its fair share of critics! But what these people
fail to appreciate is the depth of the crisis which threatens to engulf us all. It is easy to criticise; much harder to do
something constructive. In recent years we have seen very worrying trends throughout the West, but particularly within the
UK. Large areas of our towns and cities have effectively been surrendered to criminals. Is this the sort of society you want
to live in? What you have to ask yourself is: Are you happy to live in a country in which the rich build walls around their
own property and hire private security to protect themselves, while the rest of us have to struggle to get justice and
our fair share of police protection? If your answer is "No", if you believe it should be the yobs and criminals
made to walk in fear, then it will be worth your while to take a closer look at the benefits to be gained by Social Continence. The LSC :Our Aims At
the moment the LSC exists purely as an unofficial pressure-group. Our immediate purpose is to bring the idea of the Social
Continence system (with or without the Legalisation of All Drugs) into public consciousness. Once this is achieved, we
believe that the idea will gather its own momentum and prove very difficult for career-politicians to resist. It is our
belief that if Social Continence is ever installed in this country, and allowed to function properly, it will have a
greater beneficial impact on our society than any other single piece of legislation. The LSC is also campaigning for a return to the idea of prisons as reforming instutions,
and away from the disgraceful drug-fuelled academies of crime which they have now sadly become. The prospect of spending time
in prison should fill an individual with trepidation, not present an opportunity for career-criminals to pool their anti-social
techniques. To this end the LSC would support a MASSIVE CONTRUCTION PROJECT OF SINGLE-CELL PRISONS. ALL SENTENCES TO BE SERVED
IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. A reform of the current warden personnel would also be required to root out corruption. At the moment the amount
of violent crime and yobbish behaviour in the UK is so prevalent that it can almost be compared to the weather. When you see
a black sky overhead, you know that it won't be long before you see the rain. The only thing that can stop the rain is
a change in the weather. The installation of Social Continence would be like a change in the weather. Social Continence
would reach those parts of society where others fear to tread. It's about time we put ourselves one step ahead of those
(comparatively few) individuals who are making life a misery for so many. It's about time we turned the tables. This isn't
a matter of resources. We have the resources, as the billions made available to the failed bankers and the futile foreign
wars have demonstrated. THIS IS A MATTER OF POLITICAL WILL. "...Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and
every city or house divided against itself shall not stand..." St Matthew ch12,
v25,26
Capitalism needs Continence:
SOCIAL CONTINENCE
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The LSC is trying to make the UK a safer place, but it can only do so
with your help. To make our voice heard on the UK political scene will require massive resources. If we obtain those resources
we believe we can reach the 'critical mass' necessary to transform the moribund state of UK politics
The phrases 'Social Continence' and 'Capitalism needs
Continence' are copyright of the LSC (founded 1994)
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