Basic HTML Version
Taiwan's capital of Taipei. In its
central hospital there are a dozen of
the most modern body-scanners–
nearly twice as many as exist in the
whole of London.
Sorne of these stories, one would
think, deserved considerable expo–
sure. All of them, on December 23,
1981 , were tucked away on inside
pages of the
Times.
The British are
past masters of understatement.
Welfarism, however well-meant,
has contributed to the growing disor–
ganization and confusion of Britain's
socialli fe. Of course, there is a credit
side to the Welfare
State, but it has been
a powerful disincen–
tive to sel f-help or
mutual help.
It
has
encouraged a sense of
personal impotence
and dependence on
the State among a
people that used to be
the most indepen–
dent minded in the
world.
Trade union ac–
tion, also, too often
has tended to hit the
man in the street and
to impact the nation–
al good.
increasingly empty fo r sever a!
decades. It was otherwise in the
.countryside, but there too they are
now emptying. The bond of reli–
gion had an important social signif–
icance- and this was particularly
true in the villages.
And let us not forget the decline
of the family. Today the family is
threatened by factors common to
all industrialized societies-the
divorce rate ( Britain is now the
leader in Europe!), the generation
gap, the lure of t he television
screen, drugs and d rink that
Even the radicalization of the
left wing of the Labour Party has
not projected a specter of red revo–
lution. On the contrary, it has led
to the creation of a middle-of-the–
road, "third" party of common–
sense and moderation (but, it has to
be said, li ttle charisma).
A fter a succession of "trim–
mers," from the Conservative
Harold Macmi lla n to Labou r 's
J ames Callaghan, Britain today has
a Prime Minister, Mrs. Margaret
Thatcher, of a boldness and deci–
s iveness that used to be associated
only with the male
sex.
The Philosophy of
Envy
Fifty years ago How–
ard Spri ng began
writing novels, with a
message. He was a
socialist who believed
in social j ustice. Mr.
Spring' would be
By the 1930s Britain was beginning
to turn her back on
Political extrem–
ism of both left and
rig h t has made
gains, but they are
not spectacu lar.
Still , how terrible to
find J ewish students
at Bri tish universi–
ties denied the use
of facilities paid for
by the community as
a whole-the work
of tbe Left-wbile
British neo-Nazis of
the Right open l y
denounce the "lie"
of the near six mil–
lion J ewish dead of
the Holocaust! Yet
the great majority of
the British people
s till treasure truth
and tradition, as was
strikingly demon-
the oceans that had given
her health, as
well as wealth and power.
. strated at last sum–
mer's ro yal wed–
ding.
shocked if he could see what has
become of " radical" philosophy. The
compassion and honest protest of the
1930s has given way to the current
"philosophy of envy" in Britain.
All sorts of factors have contrib–
uted. There has been economic
decline, inflation and, paradoxical–
ly, a rise in living standards that
has primed an appetite for more
and more of the good things of life.
Revolutions, it was said at the time
of France's in 1789, come on bellies
already half-filled.
The decline of organized religion
has played its par t, too. The
churches in the big cities have been
April 1982
encourage delinquency, and the
perversion of sex by pornography.
Sorne Positive Points
The philosophy of envy may be the
biggest single factor in Bri tain's
inability to stage a real reviva), for
it makes its own cont r ibution to the
gradual disintegration of the social
fabric. Of course, the picture of
British society is not totally one of
despair. It sti ll often shows itself to
be "caring." Thus when the crew of
the Cornish village Mousehole's
lifeboat perished last December, a
very large sum was raised by volun–
tary subscriptions.
~ope
for a Revival?
May there be a break in the clouds
which wreathe Br i tai n 's once–
sceptred isle? Sadly, for the time
beirrg at least, Dean Acheson's dic–
tum, that Britain had lost an
Empire, but not found a new role
for herself, holds true. It is easier to
tear down than to create, and Brit–
ain's society has suffered severely.
A reviva! will only come when
the abilities of the British people
are given free rein, mobilized and
deployed by an act of national will.
There is no sign of such a revival on
the horizon today! o
21