Bear with me

Bear versus Bull

If we consider the stock market as being capable of providing a useful analogy for the current state of political nationalism, then one might view those nationalists of a centrifugal temperament as bulls and those of a centripetal inclination as bears.

I would suggest that market conditions currently favour a bear-like strategy, such as that which Andrew Brons has recently outlined.  However, markets can and sometimes do change rapidly.  When they do, it naturally makes sense to alter one's strategy.

To those who say that Andrew Brons has no intention of forming a new party, I say this.  He has outlined a strategy for uniting the movement.  If the strategy proves to be successful then, in due course, it will lead on to, not merely the formation of one more new party but, much more importantly, the reformation of a movement.

Unity is strength.  United we stand, divided we fall.  Once the extant nationalist, quasi-nationalist and pseudo-nationalist parties have fallen, as sadly I believe they will, in the elections later this year, nationalists of good sense and goodwill are likely to look with more favour than they do at present on the idea of unification.

All of the objective conditions necessary for the success of a united nationalist movement are already present.  All that prevents the attainment of such a desideratum is the short-sighted folly of individual nationalists.  Pride, selfishness, envy, covetousness: these are our enemies.  Truly, we are our own worst enemy.

It will not be necessary to unite every nationalist party, let alone every individual nationalist, within a single organization.  That would be a counsel of perfection and is unlikely ever to be realized.  All that is necessary for nationalism to succeed is for a new, unified body to be created that is sufficiently large to contain within itself the centre of gravity of the nationalist movement as a whole.

Needless to say, the elements that go into the new formation will need to be able to co-operate with each other and to enjoy at least a quantum sufficit of mutual trust, respect and toleration.  With all that is at stake this ought not to be impossible to achieve.

Once the 'chiefs' of nationalism have clearly demonstrated that they are more than leaders in name only, by holding a powwow and smoking the pipe of peace, then the myriad nationalist 'Indians' in the political wilderness will again see something in the offing that they regard as worth joining.  They will then again give up their non-political hobbies and acquire renewed hope for the future.

This process will gather momentum and the optimism and enthusiasm it generates will be infectious, just as the disenchantment and despair, which set in within the British National Party some eighteen months ago, also took on a life of its own.

In pursuance of the aim of nationalist unity, I should like to propose that the Centre for Democratic Nationalism (CDN) recommend that every nationalist (or quasi-nationalist) party should avoid splitting the nationalistic vote, by fielding a candidate in any election in which another nationalist (or quasi-nationalist) party already has a candidate.  An electoral pact between nationalist and quasi-nationalist parties might well lead on to even closer co-operation in the future.

Let us prove that we deserve the trust of the electorate by putting our own house in order and that trust cannot but come.

It is not so much a matter of "Action this day", as Winston Churchill used to say, as one of "Action this year".

Acknowledgements to the Wikipedia article, Market trend, for the following excerpt. 

The precise origin of the phrases "bull market" and "bear market" are obscure. The Oxford English Dictionary cites an 1891 use of the term "bull market". In French "bulle spéculative" refers to a speculative market bubble. The Online Etymology Dictionary relates the word "bull" to "inflate, swell", and dates its stock market connotation to 1714.[14]

The fighting styles of both animals may have a major impact on the names. When a bull fights it swipes its horns up; when a bear fights it swipes down on its opponents with its paws.[15] When the market is going up, it is similar to a bull swiping up with its horns. When the market is going down it is similar to a bear swinging its paws down.

One hypothetical etymology points to London bearskin "jobbers" (market makers),[16] who would sell bearskins before the bears had actually been caught in contradiction of the proverb ne vendez pas la peau de l'ours avant de l’avoir tué ("don't sell the bearskin before you've killed the bear")—an admonition against over-optimism.[17] By the time of the South Sea Bubble of 1721, the bear was also associated with short selling; jobbers would sell bearskins they did not own in anticipation of falling prices, which would enable them to buy them later for an additional profit.

Another plausible origin is from the word "bulla" which means bill, or contract. When a market is rising, holders of contracts for future delivery of a commodity see the value of their contract increase. However in a falling market, the counterparties—the "bearers" of the commodity to be delivered—win because they have locked in a future delivery price that is higher than the current price.

Some analogies that have been used as mnemonic devices:

Bull is short for 'bully', in its now mostly obsolete meaning of 'excellent'.

It relates to the speed of the animals: bulls usually charge at very high speed whereas bears normally are thought of as lazy and cautious movers—a misconception because a bear, under the right conditions, can outrun a horse.[18]

They were originally used in reference to two old merchant banking families, the Barings and the Bulstrodes.

The word "bull" plays off the market's returns being "full" whereas "bear" alludes to the market's returns being "bare".

"Bull" symbolizes charging ahead with excessive confidence whereas "bear" symbolizes preparing for winter and hibernation in doubt.

In describing financial market behavior, the largest group of market participants is often referred to, metaphorically, as the herd. This is especially relevant to participants in bull markets since bulls are herding animals. A bull market is also sometimes described as a bull run. Dow Theory attempts to describe the character of these market movements.[19]

International sculpture team Mark and Diane Weisbeck were chosen to re-design Wall Street's Bull Market. Their winning sculpture, the "Bull Market Rocket" was chosen as the modern, 21st century symbol of the up-trending Bull Market.