Via the Libertarian Alliance blog, a spot-on comment piece by Simon Heffer.
[David Cameron] complains about the “absence of a moral framework” from capitalism. It shows his profound misunderstanding of the term “capitalism”; it echoes the misunderstanding that he and his decerebrated shadow chancellor have had of this crisis ever since it began to develop.
I agree. And ‘decerebrated’ is my new favourite word.
But what is this?
Given his lack of intellectualism, Mr Cameron may not have read Atlas Shrugged, the epic novel by the American philosopher Ayn Rand in which a man discovers the secret of perpetual motion and becomes excessively rich by putting many of his less intelligent competitors out of business. The newly poor – poor because they failed to give the public what they wanted at a price they were prepared to pay – demand a Fair Shares Law, whereby they are compensated for their lack of brains and risk-taking by the enterprises who do make money.
Not sure that’s how I’d summarise Atlas Shrugged. He leaves out the really important bit. You know the one I mean.
Maybe he was just trying to avoid spoilers.
Decerebrated – I’ve known a few!
You and me both!
It’s no secret that Simon Heffer is not a fan of David Cameron’s. But DC did get a first in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford, so I suspect he’s more of an intellectual than most of us.
My own problem with Cameron is not that he isn’t sufficiently intellectual, but that’s neither here nor there. Have you ever met anyone who did PPE at Oxford? I have. They may be able to contemplate the deep philosophical mysteries of existence, but most of them would sell their souls (and their grandmothers, and their grandmothers’ souls) for a chance at public office.