Champerty and Betting and Who's to Blame

It is interesting upon reflection how connected at the hip, or perhaps the head, Mrs Thatcher and Mr Reagan actually were and how the some of the changes they brought in had far-reaching repercussions which they may or may not have appreciated. 

Mr Reagan was responsible for removing the Fairness Doctrine in media which had been created in the 1930's and supported by the media moguls of the time who, strange but true, felt a responsibility to report the news in an even and fair-handed manner using the editorial pages for their personal diatribes.

The result of Mr Reagan's intervention:Fox News, polarisation of society and in the end a somewhat stymied political system.

Mrs Thatcher had a few tricks up her sleeve as well.  The first was to remove the Common Law prohibiton on Champerty, and its' cousin Barraty  which essentially allowed for the promotion of or the incitement to bring legal proceedings.  Mrs Thatcher felt that this was restraint of trade thereby opening the door to allowing uninvolved third parties (i.e. lawyers) to take a case on simply to gain in the winnings if the successfully prosecuted or defended the case. 

Now one might find that less onerous than I do, but it basically opened the door to litigation "chasing" which I believe was instrumental in creating  a culture which takes no responsibility and is always looking to blame someone else.

Moving on, another serious intrusion into the fabric of society perpetrated by Mrs Thatcher was to remove laws banning the "incitement" to bet.

When I first came to Britain in 1987 there were many professional football (soccer) teams sponsored by contraceptive manufactures.  Now despite the fact that there was never any indication as to the wares a sponsor's name brazened across the shirts of a football team was actually advertising, the product was considered to be morally unacceptable and potentially damaging to the nation's youth. 

So, on the shirttails of Mrs Thatcher's decision to promote betting there suddenly appeared a host of football teams sponsored by betting companies.  To add insult to injury, after one has already paid for the pleasure of watching football on a private television station, views are then subjected to a barrage of advertisements before and during the games from the same betting companies suggesting that you should be betting on everything and anything to do with the game "live".

And what is the result?

A game-fixing scandal has burst onto the scene reaching up to just below the Premier League and England has the highest incidence of (unwanted) teenage pregnancies in Europe and in the developed world are second only to the USA.

Funny that.

I think the saying goes along the lines of  "your reap what you sow....."