“I can’t understand anything now,” said Stavrogin
wrathfully. “Why does every one expect of me something not expected from anyone
else? Why am I to put up with what no one else puts up with, and undertake
burdens no one else can bear?”
“I thought you were seeking a burden yourself.”
“I seek a burden?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve... seen that?”
“Yes.”
“Is it so noticeable?”
“Yes.”
Some people do seek a burden, usually the burden of
responsibility. Yet it may not be the responsibility they really seek, but the
burden or maybe the status of having a burden.
Too often in our evasive world it is possible to pass on most
of the responsibility while retaining all the apparent burden. Boris is doing some of that with
his high profile scientific advisers. Does not appear to be the kind of thing Trump does
though. To my mind it is a telling difference.
3 comments:
The relationship between politicians and scientific experts and advisors in an interesting one, and likely to get more so as a result of corona. Obviously, we can't expect even bright Old Etonian Oxbridge polymaths to know everything, so they need advisors. But they will certainly be judged by the outcomes of the policies those advisors recommend. If the UK death toll is much higher than a lot of similar countries, Boris will be toast. Yet how can he know in advance what sort of experts will be needed? And even if his judgement and instinct is sound, how can he know enough about virology and epidemiology and dozens of other specialist disciplines to know which bits of advice to translate into policy?
Given the fact that the world's most eminent epidemiologists disagree on fundamentals, and that this is far more complex than mere epidemiological models, guesswork and luck will play a huge part. The huge worry, of course, is that the luck element doesn't bring Boris down, and thereby raises the spectre of a disadvantageous Brexit and a Labour government.
Layabouts call themselves victims. They love being them, often trying to be more ill andsorry for themselves.
The status of a burden in 'politics', is a price worth paying, as any publicity is good - eventually! And the money's great as well, especially when your a large (k)nob in an LA or an NHS 'trust'...
Sam - yes guesswork and luck will play a huge part. Boris is bound to keep an eye on what everyone else is doing and that may be his most reliable guide. His luck may depend on how many people perceive the lockdown as essential, probably a large number from what we hear. In which case his main risk may be lifting the lockdown too slowly and too bureaucratically.
Scrobs - layabouts do call themselves victims. Lots of people tell them they are too, when once upon a time they would have been called layabouts and nobody would faint.
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