If it doesn’t make a profit then let it rot.

It is so very telling that the South Korean government has decided to fund the opening of 180 new libraries at the same time as the coalition has decided to cut over 400. Short-termism used to be a simple criticism pointed at all British governments of every party. In the context of the coalition’s economic shock therapy however, we are seeing complex, long-term intergenerational difficulties ahead.

Even if we ignore libraries as beacons of civilisation, institutions existing on the most British of principles, we cannot afford to accept the threatened closure of over 400 of them. Why? It is because there is such a thing as learning for the sake of learning, improvement for the sake of improvement. If not for this then there are the benefits. If we look to South Korea we see a modern economy with the high-tech and modern, capitalist economy Cameron is always talking about. If Mr Cameron likes South Korea so much then why doesn’t he look to them for tips on education policy? Pretty soon they will also have the knowledge base to challenge us in our supposed academic excellence. We must keep up with countries like this; if not we will fall further and further behind as their pools of human capital increase while ours empty.

Up and down the country, in almost every city and town, we are seeing the categorical denouncing of learning for the sake of learning. It is quite an accusation I am aware, but I am also aware of the current mindset our governors have when they make the decisions that affect the rest of us. This is part of a complete change in attitude to governance, a break with principled governance. It is something a lot of backbench Tories have a problem with. Alongside rising unemployment and no growth, the government has constrained its fiscal policy to a ‘Friedman Shock’: cuts. And when Cameron, Osborne, Gove and pals all sit down to dine at each other’s Notting Hill homes, they finger their iPads and their Kindles not realising the complete and utter tasteless-irony circulating around them. Nothing is sacred to people like this. Masters of hypocrisy, they are disingenuous and they believe in themselves fiercely, completely. Listening to Michael Gove’s sarcastic attempt to hold back a fiery caller on radio five last month only confirmed my beliefs that this government are the true successors to Blair.

They have taken the dangerous pragmatism one step further. It is the same line, the same old false dichotomy being used by every government minister in every interview, the one they have all practiced. “The deficit must be cut and so sacrifices must be made.” It’s either cuts or leave the deficit alone and it seems to be working: for a government with the sole agenda of increasing GDP by shrinking the public sector, it seems that we, as the electorate, don’t seem to have that big a problem with it, Labour are only slightly ahead in the polls! It is nothing short of unbelievable. The marketisation of education policy is being mirrored in every government department. If it doesn’t produce a profit, let it rot. It is tempting to sum up Cameron’s current approach to government as a ‘Show me the money’ approach. With tuition fee increases, library closures, and capital projects for schools cuts, we are seeing the true values of our leaders, namely one thing, money, not later but now.