I'll be the first to admit that much of the politics of socialism can be naïve. Any political system which has at its heart a principal of helping people has a tendency to attract those who are noble of heart but who let their hearts drive them without first educating themselves and thinking things through. I have at times been appalled by the naïveté of some of the people with whom I have worked on political campaigns; yet I say this: socialism is not by its very nature naïve, and it can be wielded as intelligently and to as great an effect as any other respected political system.

It is popular to point out that, at the core of things, there are no such things as human rights; this is often taken to mean that as they don't exist, there is no reason to uphold them. I refute that. I look at it this way: if we choose to live in a society, then, in order to keep that society functioning smoothly, we must respect its other members, and they must respect us; we must perform certain duties wherever we can, and in return we receive certain rights. They are not an innate thing, they are a social construct, but that makes them no less valuable. When rights are taken away, those individuals who have lost them become partially excluded from society, and must find other means of survival. Thus they ignore their duties and exist in a manner which often undermines society. Should a mother unable to feed her kids let them starve? Whatever the political answer, any reasonable person would say no, and must acknowledge that she may have to steal in order to feed them. I am not in favour of stealing. I am in favour of establishing a society which respects all its citizens and offers them some basic protections, such that situations of that sort need not arise in the first place.

The turnout for 2000's European elections was the lowest in many decades, with only a quarter of the Scottish population bothering to participate, and as little as ten percent taking an interest in some parts of England. This saddens me deeply, because I do feel that every responsible citizen has a duty to vote, or at least to turn up and spoil the ballot paper to make a point if there is no suitable candidate. I understand that unless one votes Cthulhu it is frequently a question of choosing the lesser evil; however, high levels of apathy worry me, because we do need to ensure, at least, that a sort of status quo is maintained, even when an electorate as large as the European one will inevitably produce a bland, compromised result. When responsible citizens do not vote they leave the way open for irresponsible ones to take control. It is an invitation to extremism, and the pattern can be seen over and over again throughout history: waves of apathy followed by fascists rising to power.

Furthermore, the general lack of interest in voting saddens me because it indicates that the vast majority of people in what is supposed to be a wonderful democratic system feel disenfranchised and insufficiently represented. It has become so desperately politically incorrect to speak one word of criticism against democracy that no-one seems to be asking the serious questions anymore. Are our proud western democracies really working? Can they work? If so, how can we achieve that? It is fast becoming too late to pretend everything's fine. As one South African citizen recently said, asserting his own reasons for not using his vote,"We fought for freedom, and all we got was democracy."

As the UK and US governments align themselves in their war on terror, there is another thing about democracy which it is vital to remember: that it is there because of, not simply for the sake of, you and me. As individuals, we are responsible for preserving it, and we must be continually vigilant in the war on fascism. This means that we are under an obligation to defend our liberal freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of association. We must defend our parliaments against usurpation by lobbyists and against concentrations of executive power. Any number of countries can sadly tell us how quickly democracies can vanish when their citizens slacken in these duties. If you live in a democracy and value it, keep in touch with your representatives and let them know your concerns about existing and proposed legislation which you feel endangers these vital institutions. No system is perfect, but we should be very glad of the good things we have, and we must defend them.

Attending a Pride Scotland march in Edinburgh a few years ago, I was reminded of the reasons why, despite my political inclinations, I have kept myself separate from the bulk of the Socialist movement for many years now. It is unfortunate that, in attracting the lower classes, socialism also tends to attract those with limited educations - more significant than a shortage of knowledge is the consequent shortage of analytical and learning skills. I find it difficult to join in the party spirit with someone who is utterly in ignorance of the mechanics of it, and who, to cover for that, cites distorted texts at random as if the solution is to borrow blindly from others rather than figuring out one's own approach to policy. The first thing one should learn when active in politics is to admit that one doesn't know everything or have an answer to everything. Dogma breeds an unhealthy fanaticism which is never going to impress an outsider (and rightly so). It is a crime of modern politics that those in the public eye are scorned for feeling it best to take advice. Furthermore, I am distrustful of the desperate camaraderie which so often develops in small marginalised groups. Some people interpret socialism as meaning that we must appreciate the efforts of every individual by pretending the results of those efforts are always of equal value. That's simply not realistic. In small meetings, it manifests itself in cacophonous parodies of karaoke and desperate laughter at weak jokes; in government it manifests as economic disaster. I don't see that as being necessary. Socialism can only succeed if approached with honesty, by which we must understand that people are not all equally capable, and that, rather than pretend they are, we need to actively help them to achieve more, through criticism if necessary. Socialism should not be about pretending that everyone is equally capable of everything, but rather about attaching the same value to each person, regardless of ability, and asserting that ability to contribute to society is not the only thing that can make an individual's existence worthwhile.

Attached at the top left are a collection of my essays on specific political topics. I strive to update them whenever I have time. I am continually active in politics and think it neither big nor clever to disparage the efforts of others without attempting to make some useful suggestions myself. I have also included a page of links aimed at helping you the reader to take a more active role yourself.