From the blog:
Read Sir V.S. Naipaul on Thatcher, Freedom and Democracy:
“The pursuit of happiness requires that men are at ease with themselves, at ease with their society and the opportunities their society offers. I find it marvellous to contemplate, after two centuries and after the terrible history of the first part of the century, that the idea – a mere phrase in the preamble to the American constitution – has come to a universal fruition. It is an elastic idea. It fits all men. It implies a certain kind of society – a certain kind of awakened spirit. I don’t imagine my father’s parents would have been able to understand the idea. We all know the phrase, but it contains so much: the idea of the individual, the idea of responsibility, choice, the life of the intellect, the idea of vocation and perfectibility and achievement. It is an immense human idea. It can be said to contain the world. It cannot be reduced to a fixed system. It cannot generate fanaticism, but it is known to exist and because of that, other more rigid systems, even when religious, in the end blow away. Mrs Thatcher made little of this directly; but she might be said to be the champion of this brand of human happiness.”
Graph of the Day:
Quote of the Day:
Freidreich Von Hayek, 1960: “Liberty not only means that the individual has both the opportunity and the burden of choice; it also means that he must bear the consequences of his actions … Liberty and responsibility are inseparable.”
Date Added: Thursday 3rd July 2014
