This excerpt from Marshall's forthcoming book might also be entitled, "A Guide to Decoding Capitalist Ruling Class Language".
Ruling classes are inherently illegitimate because human nature is inherently egalitarian. Humans are endowed with a profound sense of fairness, they require respect from their peers, and a sense of belonging to a social network that sustains all who reside there. Societies ruled over by one segment of the population pursuing their own interests necessarily violate all these principles. Hence, the need to hide their actions behind verbiage which distorts and obscures.
As George Orwell wrote in his 1946 essay, “political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.” But there remains intent and meaning behind the words that are used. When we translate the political language of the European debt crisis, it reveals a monstrous agenda of impoverishment and exploitation. Thus, we also see the necessity of political language for those who use it: one cannot argue openly for programs of impoverishment and exploitation for obvious reasons, so words like “fiscal consolidation” and “structural reform” are used, because they are vague and obscure.
