An Excellent Prospect

Prospect is always a good read, and the latest edition includes a fascinating article by David Marquand on Edmund Burke.

Marquand writes that "The little platoons that needs succouring are defenders of traditional ways of life like the Countryside Alliance, bodies like the Church of England that resist the hedonistic individualism now threatening to erode social bonds, and institutions like the trade unions that countervail untamed capitalism."

To which one should only add that defending traditional ways of life, resisting hedonistic individualism, and countervailing untamed capitalism, are all basically and ultimately the same cause. A cause, in all three aspects, for the Countryside Alliance, for the Church of England, for the trade unions, and for many, many, many more besides. All supported by exactly as much central and local government action as necessary. That is what the State is for, and that is why we will always need it.