I am worried that it might lead to something worse than boom and bust: a permanent weakening of our countries' productive capacity which would leave them permanently impoverished and incidentally leave millions pretty much outside the range of proper economic activity. The last great depression was only relieved by the Second World War; we cannot have such a relief today, and indeed we should not want it. But unless people wake up and realize that saving, investment and work are the life-blood of a healthy economy and that debt is at best a necessary evil and by no means ever your friend, we shall keep digging our own graves in further depth. And I do not think so ill of the average person as you do. What most people in Europe especially hanker for is a clear and responsible statement of fact, and what they hate about their political class is their wishy-washiness. What made Churchill's speeches compelling, convincing, and unanswerable, was that he said the worst and said it first. ("We must be careful not to assign to this deliverance the character of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.") This made people feel that he had a clear idea of the worst and still could see a way ahead. When politicians today try the same game, they come across as irresponsible cheerleaders. I feel fairly sure that a man or woman willing to tell the truth and to call on his/her fellow-citizens to commit themselves to saving, hard work, and clearing debt, would get great support. But where is a man of such moral stature to be found?
In the end, I suspect that the problem may be in my great bugbear, the party system. IN order to rise in a party, you have to start as someone else's factotum. By the time you are called upon to lead instead of follow, you are apt to have the follower's mentality branded on you. This, incidentally, is one area in which the American political system is superior to most of ours; the existence of an enormous amount of responsible, decision-taking, directly elected offices of state - from mayor to sheriff to governor to DA - means that a lot of professional American politicians have practice in personal responsibility even before they reach the national stage. Not that this has saved us from groupthink and irresponsibility, but it is something we need more of. The next Santa Claus must NOT come from the ranks of Santa's little helpers.
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Date: 2009-03-04 03:15 pm (UTC)In the end, I suspect that the problem may be in my great bugbear, the party system. IN order to rise in a party, you have to start as someone else's factotum. By the time you are called upon to lead instead of follow, you are apt to have the follower's mentality branded on you. This, incidentally, is one area in which the American political system is superior to most of ours; the existence of an enormous amount of responsible, decision-taking, directly elected offices of state - from mayor to sheriff to governor to DA - means that a lot of professional American politicians have practice in personal responsibility even before they reach the national stage. Not that this has saved us from groupthink and irresponsibility, but it is something we need more of. The next Santa Claus must NOT come from the ranks of Santa's little helpers.