Tim Almond

Reading the latest idea from the Conservative Party, I went looking for a humourous, pithy or satirical quote by a great philosopher that I could use.

In it’s absence, I’ll write it in my own direct way: Established Wealth Condemns Materialism.

The report by the Quality of Life policy group, headed by John Gummer and Zac Goldsmith, will warn that British society has “a preoccupation with materialism” which has led to “status anxiety” among people desperate to keep up.

That’s Zac Goldsmith, the son of billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, who also owns Drones nightclub, John Gummer MP, who has 6 renumerated directorships, and a house and commercial property in London. Presumably, they’ll be telling us where we can sign up for a share of their wealth.

I don’t object to any of those men’s wealth. What I object to is the idea that other people shouldn’t have some of that either. It is, of course, couched in the language of “but we’re only doing this for you”. Which leads me to the conclusion that that will mean less taxes and more money being spent by such people on things that are “good for us”.

In the radical paper that confronts the spirit of Thatcherism, the Tories will argue there is a “darker side of wealth”, observing that naturally acquisitive people often tend to be dissatisfied and unhappy.

Since when was Thatcherism about being acquisitive? They never objected to people who earnt their own keep, but lived frugally. It was about economic freedom baby, yeah! There is no conflict between believing in free-market economics and believing in living frugally. The difference is that the Thatcherites also didn’t try and make people feel guilty who chose to be acquisitive.

Tags: Politics //