Social Darwinism

When I saw the headline, “Another day of shame…” on your front page (7 February) I assumed the story would be about the NHS, but I see it refers to the antics of the banks, and the North Staffordshire hospital scandal is on page 7, after several pages detailing the “high price of greed at the heart of banking”.

It’s arguable that a scandal
involving the death of possibly hundreds of vulnerable patients ought to have been the front-page story – no-one seems to have died as a result of the RBS scandal.

However, it could be said that both are examples of the same phenomenon – putting the 
pursuit of money and power 
before the needs of small investors and of vulnerable people.

Both are examples of “greed” n their own way. At least now the truth is emerging about what goes wrong in UK public services – and RBS is technically a public service, given the taxpayers own a majority share.

But it’s this sort of “social
Darwinism”, where the weakest can go to the wall and only the strong – that is the powerful – survive, that should have no place in an independent Scotland.

It’s to be hoped that lessons will have been learned about the need for ethical decision making by those managing public services, whichever political party ends up in power after a Yes vote. A small nation, united behind fair and equitable policies, should be able to hold the decision makers to account before wrongdoing reaches the stage it did at RBS and North Staffordshire.

(Dr) Mary Brown

Dalvenie Road

Banchory

When Iceland was humiliated by the behaviour of its financial community, it called in Eve Jolly, the Norwegian-born French magistrate who specialises in 
financial corruption.

We will know the EU has 
finally decided to clean up its sleaze the day it appoints this hit-woman who threatened to resign if the Icelandic judiciary did not back her up.

In the end not only bankers but civil servants and leading politicians were prosecuted and jailed with the result that Iceland is today well on the way to recovery. So a tiny nation stood up to the money markets while we lacked the political will to put any of our reckless crew from Fred Goodwin to Gordon Brown under judicial scrutiny.

Some of those responsible took the money and ran and some were allowed to retire onto the profitable lecture circuit, while others – like Gordy’s little helpers – are still in their jobs.

There has not been a single prosecution of a leading banker, let alone a politician, and the UK banking system is well on its way to becoming one of the most corrupt in the West.

(Dr) John Cameron

Howard Place

St Andrews