8 May, 2009
Non-constituent coordination
A Guardian article about the proposed Severn Barrage includes the (partial) sentence:
The National Trust, RSPB, WWF and the Anglers' Trust, which together represent at least eight million people,...
Really? I'm not a member of any of those organisations, but would, hypothetically, consider joining the first two in order to gain free/cheaper access to their properties and could imagine donating to the third*, but my giving them money certainly wouldn't mean they'd represent me. I really don't think it's reasonable for a journalist or pressure group to automatically equate 'membership' numbers with the size of a constituency – some members might support the organisations' campaigns, but many more might be, like me, simply buying products/services.
Evaluation of competing designs for tidal power schemes in the Severn estuary is important and contentious, so such logical flaws are unhelpful distractions.
*: Only after all medical charities had been wound-up, their work complete. Humans first.
[Title by H. Apparently, linguists will find it witty, but I'm afraid it eludes me.]
Posted by Ministry at 14:12
| 167 words
