Hi Cherful,

170 years ago, the French political commentator de Tocqueville wrote something along the lines that 'democracy is a system in which people vote themselves the keys to the Treasury'.

Given the lavish promises of all major parties in the lead-up to our election, one suspects that party leaders know this in their bones. My vote may well go to the party which resists this self-serving most and promises least. The Coalition's promises are up around $ 4 billion, but the Greens' promises are up around $ 53 billion already. Bye bye.

Cheers,

Joe

I certainly agree with you about the Greens Joe

They are dangerous zealots to my way of thinking

Hi Cherful,

The power of powerlessness ? The Greens will never form government in their own right, so they can promise the earth, and sink the boot into all and sundry for their callousness etc.

On socialism, you may remember Norman Lindsay's Magic Pudding - not just for the pudding but for an illustration right at the back of the book, of Benjamin Brandysnap toiling away down in the garden, growing the vegetables to accompany the pudding, while Bunyip Bluegum and Sam Sawnoff et al. were up in the tree-house having a good time. Maybe that was Lindsay's take on socialism, but it's just as likely, unintentionally, to depict the division of labour in all elite societies - some rule, some labour.

Elitism and socialism - who would have thought they had so much in common ?

Cheers,

Joe