QUOTE OF THE MONTH

'Chamberlain attracted both strong support and equally strong hatred. His distinctive image - with a monocle and button-hole orchid - made him a media celebrity. In politics he held passionate beliefs and had a combative style, believing that there should be 'no fraternizing in the trenches and no wandering about in no-man's land'. To his supporters “good ol' Joe” was the greatest prime minister Britain never had. Keynes dismissed him as a “fanatical charlatan”. Others resented “Pushful Joe”. Shaw Lefevre, who had held several ministerial positions in Liberal governments since the 1860s, thought that Chamberlain “has shown himself totally unfit for the higher spheres of politics. He thought he could carry on the game in the same manner as that by which he succeeded in his screw business by bluffing his competitors in trade and establishing a monopoly. There ought to be no mincing of words with regard to him”. Lord Robert Cecil (1864-1958), a committed free trader, was contemptuous of the Chamberlainites: “Their whole way of looking at politics … appears to me entirely sordid and materialistic, not yet corrupt, but on the high-road to corruption”.'

- Michael William, The Ponzi Class, page 44

 

Whatever abuse is directed at Donald Trump, it should not be overlooked that he is in good company. Joseph Chamberlain, like Donald Trump, was a businessman before entering politics (although he did so at a much younger age). Despite his enemies, Joseph Chamberlain was acknowledged to be the greatest statesman of the late Victorian era. Like Donald Trump, he came to be a firm believer in tariff reform.

 

It may be that it is now more than 100 years later, but the USA is in a similar position as Britain was then, in that it is experiencing relative decline. The issues may be different, but there are similarities and the political fault lines are the same, with a very large number of ordinary people rallying to a patriotic cause and rebelling against the establishment.

 

The same fault lines are evident in the current referendum campaign in Britain about membership of the EU. The outcome of this referendum is uncertain.

 

It remains to be seen whether the USA can reverse its decline.