The Corruption of Britain

Forbes ^ | 6/5/2009 | Paul Johnson

[bruinbirdman]

American politicians, in dealing with Britain and continental Europe, have been accustomed to drawing a distinction symbolized by the English Channel: In Britain they found politics to be honest; on the Continent a varying level of corruption was endemic, with it being less pronounced in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, more so in France and Spain and the most in Italy and Greece.

This distinction no longer applies, and it is a point President Obama should note. British politics are becoming corrupt. This is partly because of the deleterious effects of membership in the European Community and Parliament. But there are other factors.

During the 18th century Parliament was very crooked, with seats being sold openly. But eventually Edmund Burke led a vigorous and successful anticorruption campaign under the slogan "Economic Reform," and for more than a century Britain was the least corrupt country in the world.

Then came several important changes. The first was the disappearance of amateur politicians--those who sat in the House of Commons (and the House of Lords) out of a sense of duty, not ambition, and who looked upon politics as a sideline, not a career. Full-time politicians were a minority. But this began to change in the mid-1930s. Edward Heath (later prime minister) shocked the admissions tutor at Balliol College, Oxford when asked the routine question "Now that you have taken your degree, what do you intend to do in life?" Heath replied: "Become a professional politician." The tutor had never before heard the word "professional" used in this context.

Within 30 years the Labour Party, with the exception of a rapidly dwindling band of veteran trades-unionists, was made up of professional politicians. The Tory Party slowly followed suit. Now politics is a career, with Labour and Tories alike embarking on it in their 20s

[2ndDivisionVet]

We have the same problem, in spades, from the city council chamber to the White House.

[CanaGuy]

If you want some great reading about the decline of British society, try these three books by Theodore Dalrymple, who is a retired physician with an amazing array of experiences and inspiring insights into the downward spiral of the species:

"Life at the Bottom"

"Our Culture, What's Left of it"

"Not with a Bang but a Whimper"

[Senator John Blutarski]

2ndDivisionVet wrote: We have the same problem, in spades, from the city council chamber to the White House.

..... TRUER WORDS NEVER SPOKEN.

[nathanbedford]

As much as I admire Paul Johnson and his work, I think he miss diagnoses the disease.

The problem is not that legislators are directly compensated, the problem is that the system has made politics more rewarding than entrepreneurism. That is especially true if one is lured more by power than by economic remuneration.

The solution is not that we need patricians like Thomas Jefferson or even Edmund Burke, we need to modify the compensation of our rulers to reward virtue and punish vice. If they do not balance the budget, their pay is docked. If inflation rages, their pay is docked. If taxes are increased more than inflation, their pay is docked. You get the picture.

In addition, for every term they serve their pensions should be reduced, not increased. Justice Scalia has acted patriotically choosing to stay on the bench rather than retire at full pay. He is a shining exception to the rule that politicians do not age well.

So long as we as a society allocate the fruits of our efforts not according to those efforts but according to political interests which decide who gets what and who pays for it, the problem will compound.