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Monday 27 January 2020

Old progressives




In any case he did not like old men. The War had carried him with the rest upon the swing of that popular cry “Every one over seventy to the lethal chamber.”...

...“I don’t think we ought to be governed by old people,” said Jane. “Every one over seventy ought to be buried whether they wish it or no.” Joan laughed aloud. “Of course they wouldn’t wish it,” she said.

Hugh Walpole – The Cathedral (1922)

Almost a century ago Walpole used these two fictional comments to indicate how bleakly facile rootless progressives can be. He was a popular novelist, yet The Cathedral is a dark and strangely disturbing tale set within the narrow confines of cathedral clergy.

At the novel’s heart is the subtle scheming of one clergyman to undermine and remove another simply because he thinks cathedral life would be more comfortable that way. This is his only motive for destroying a colleague.

It highlights something which has always been a fundamental tenet of progressive thinking – sweep these people away and all will be well.

3 comments:

Sam Vega said...

That's probably the old-fashioned and crude type of progressive. These days, they are probably happier if they can ignore people's votes, outlaw their opinions, and marginalised their thought. Living people still need feeding, of course, but they don't cause much trouble and they look better in the history books.

Scrobs. said...

Blimey, I'd be 2.5 years after my sell-by date!

A K Haart said...

Sam - and the feeding has come in for some scrutiny.

Scrobs - I'm behind you but still past my sell-by date. Does that make us cheaper?