Wednesday
I cannot have a situation where businesses close haphazardly.
- Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, speaking on Radio 4's Today programme about the Sub-Post Office network, and neatly demonstrating the dirigiste mentality of the Scottish Raj
Forgive my ignorance but what does 'dirigiste' mean? I did try looking it up without success.
Posted by mandrill at October 18, 2006 09:11 AM
I think Dirigiste means a supposedly capitalist system where the goverment exert control as opposed to own the means of production.
Mini fascism if you will
Apologies if this is incorrect but surely someone will correct me if required
Posted by steves at October 18, 2006 09:34 AM
Mandrill, steves
1. Go to Google
2. type in "define: dirigiste" (do not type the quotation marks)
3. hit 'search'
4. all is revealed
Posted by michael farris at October 18, 2006 09:36 AM
Dirigiste is essentially the same word as dirigible and literally means "steered".
And every time I go to the Today site I'm astonished at the thumping Stalinist design theme.
Posted by Novus at October 18, 2006 10:22 AM
Seems I was quite close but a bit kind. Kinda democratic fascism such as we have today (its from the French which isn't a surprise).
Posted by steves at October 18, 2006 04:21 PM
Give Darling credit: at least he didn't say "randomly".
Posted by dearieme at October 18, 2006 04:51 PM
great quote, and its always good to learn a new word, it represents a mindset far too common today
Posted by Stuart Scott at October 18, 2006 05:35 PM
I cannot have a situation where businesses close haphazardly.
We must clearly make the arrangements de rigueur.
Posted by Freeman at October 18, 2006 06:00 PM
many thanks. I did check dictionary.com but being american it didn't have it, not surprising if its from the french really. I was guessing it had something to do with rigidity, I wasn't far off it seems.
I also didn't know google could do that... something to think about.
Posted by mandrill at October 18, 2006 06:14 PM
"I also didn't know google could do that... "
Google can do anything (except the dishes, dammit)
Posted by michael farris at October 18, 2006 08:40 PM
Probably thinking along the same lines as Freeman. Does Darling (whenever I hear that name I think of Blackadder Goes Forth) think that any business going under, usually as a result of governmental fiscal or trade policy anyway, should in itself be a matter for state intervention because they are not going bust according to DTI bankruptcy models?
Perhaps we should have grades of liquidation, in order to allow Labour trade policy to demonstrate that all business is thriving and that the government is no threat at all to small enterprises, in much the way that they massage/spin the unemployment figures to show that unemployment is at an absolute minimum.
Posted by Julian Taylor at October 18, 2006 10:44 PM
