Цитатник Англофила по выходным - 9: Дэвид Камерон спорит с Маргарет Тэтчер
В этот раз я обращусь к произнесенной в минувшую пятницу речи лидера оппозиции ее Величества Дэвида Камерона ( David Cameron). Этот молодой (40 лет) и динамичный лидер тори не без успеха (что отражают опросы общественного мнения) пытается реформировать свою несколько приунывшую под грузом неудач партию, уже 10 лет как лишившуюся власти. В частности, он провозгласил (очень осторожно) отход от некоторых принципов тэтчеризма и пытается следовать политической философии, известной под названием "modern compassionate conservatism". Желающие поближе познакомиться с будущим премьер-министром Великобритании (хотя не факт, что это избрание случится на следующих выборах), могут заглянуть на David Cameron's video blog & discussion website.
Сначала я приведу опорную и весьма многозначительную фразу из этой речи, которая привлекла особое внимание местных политических комментаторов, Которые даже не очень склонны вспоминать о контексте, в котором она была сказана, и рассматривают ее как генеральную политическую декларацию:
If it comes to a collision between our wealth as a nation and the well-being of families, I choose families.
А теперь - приведу выдержки из этой речи, которые и обозначат этот самый контекст - для желающих в него углубиться.
I passionately believe that the quality of life matters just as much as the quantity of money... So that is my first priority - a focus on the quality of life, especially family life. I don't make this choice lightly. I know that a dynamic economy is essential to create the wealth we need, not least in order to eradicate poverty. Competitiveness, which includes a flexible labour market, is one of the central components of a fair society. But we must not put the cart before the horse. If our working habits are damaging our families, we need to change our working habits... I recognise the right of adults to conduct their own relationships in their own way. I am not the sort of politician who preaches morality to grown men and women. But I do know that if we are to rebuild our broken society we have to get the foundation right. And the foundation of society is - or should be - the care of children by the man and the woman who brought them into the world. So this leads to important conclusions - both for the free-market right and for the liberal left. Let us have no more grandstanding about the exclusive importance of competitiveness in business. Nothing matters more than children.
So that is my first priority - a focus on the quality of life, especially family life. The second priority is this: a culture of personal responsibility. Conservatives have sometimes been shy of talking about their vision of the good society. A good society is one in which everyone takes his or her own responsibility - as parents, as professionals, as businesspeople, as neighbours. The society is the responsible society. I need to emphasise a crucial point at the outset. There is a role for government here - there are actual policies that need to be implemented. But the real responsibility for improving children's wellbeing lies with society - with all of us...
And finally, the third area for action is this: straightforward common sense. I want to replace the European Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights. But this is not some obscure constitutional alteration. It goes to the heart of how we live, and how we relate to each other. Rather than stridently asserting their rights as free individuals, I want young people to recognise that we're all in this together. That our freedoms come with responsibilities attached - indeed, that our freedoms are only preserved by our collective commitment to self-restraint and duty.
По-существу, это развитие более ранней декларации Камерона, сделанной в процессе проходившего в декабре 2005 г. состязательного процесса выбора нового лидера партии: “There is such a thing as society; it’s just not the same as the state”.
Сравним с классической цитатой из Маргарет Тэтчер (тоже часто вырываемой из контекста ее журнального интервью 1987 г.):
I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.' 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society. And, you know, they are casting their problems at society. And, you know, there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation.
Ну а с тем, что говорят те, кто провозглашает себя консерваторами (даже и "либеральными") в России, мы декларации обоих лидеров британского консерватизма сравнивать не будем (да им и некогда свои принципы формулировать - они все продолжают аплодировать мюнхенской речи президента Путина. Проблематика и тон которой чуть ли не полностью их "философию" исчерпывают). Только еще раз констатируем (со вздохом), что и здесь у России свой путь...
Сначала я приведу опорную и весьма многозначительную фразу из этой речи, которая привлекла особое внимание местных политических комментаторов, Которые даже не очень склонны вспоминать о контексте, в котором она была сказана, и рассматривают ее как генеральную политическую декларацию:
If it comes to a collision between our wealth as a nation and the well-being of families, I choose families.
А теперь - приведу выдержки из этой речи, которые и обозначат этот самый контекст - для желающих в него углубиться.
I passionately believe that the quality of life matters just as much as the quantity of money... So that is my first priority - a focus on the quality of life, especially family life. I don't make this choice lightly. I know that a dynamic economy is essential to create the wealth we need, not least in order to eradicate poverty. Competitiveness, which includes a flexible labour market, is one of the central components of a fair society. But we must not put the cart before the horse. If our working habits are damaging our families, we need to change our working habits... I recognise the right of adults to conduct their own relationships in their own way. I am not the sort of politician who preaches morality to grown men and women. But I do know that if we are to rebuild our broken society we have to get the foundation right. And the foundation of society is - or should be - the care of children by the man and the woman who brought them into the world. So this leads to important conclusions - both for the free-market right and for the liberal left. Let us have no more grandstanding about the exclusive importance of competitiveness in business. Nothing matters more than children.
So that is my first priority - a focus on the quality of life, especially family life. The second priority is this: a culture of personal responsibility. Conservatives have sometimes been shy of talking about their vision of the good society. A good society is one in which everyone takes his or her own responsibility - as parents, as professionals, as businesspeople, as neighbours. The society is the responsible society. I need to emphasise a crucial point at the outset. There is a role for government here - there are actual policies that need to be implemented. But the real responsibility for improving children's wellbeing lies with society - with all of us...
And finally, the third area for action is this: straightforward common sense. I want to replace the European Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights. But this is not some obscure constitutional alteration. It goes to the heart of how we live, and how we relate to each other. Rather than stridently asserting their rights as free individuals, I want young people to recognise that we're all in this together. That our freedoms come with responsibilities attached - indeed, that our freedoms are only preserved by our collective commitment to self-restraint and duty.
По-существу, это развитие более ранней декларации Камерона, сделанной в процессе проходившего в декабре 2005 г. состязательного процесса выбора нового лидера партии: “There is such a thing as society; it’s just not the same as the state”.
Сравним с классической цитатой из Маргарет Тэтчер (тоже часто вырываемой из контекста ее журнального интервью 1987 г.):
I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.' 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society. And, you know, they are casting their problems at society. And, you know, there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation.
Ну а с тем, что говорят те, кто провозглашает себя консерваторами (даже и "либеральными") в России, мы декларации обоих лидеров британского консерватизма сравнивать не будем (да им и некогда свои принципы формулировать - они все продолжают аплодировать мюнхенской речи президента Путина. Проблематика и тон которой чуть ли не полностью их "философию" исчерпывают). Только еще раз констатируем (со вздохом), что и здесь у России свой путь...