"Well then, who had he had time for, during his 24 years in the Party, if he didn't like collectivists and didn't like moderates? There was a pause. "Well, Benn. I have a high opinion of Wedgwood Benn. He is committed to a form of collectivism, but at least he is honest and original. I'd like to see him leading the Labour Party." You could have knocked me down with a feather. But, I said, would not Benn's leadership of the Labour Party make it still more likely that the country would go collectivist, with the inevitable erosion of our liberties as outlined by Johnson in his "Farewell"? Not necessarily, Johnson replied, because Benn was a genuine democrat, and might, when it came to the crunch between collectivism and liberty, choose liberty. But it would be too late by then! Well, said Johnson, it might be. But at least Benn leading Labour and Thatcher leading the Tories would present the country with "a proper chloice" between collectivism and individualism. This struck me as dotty."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Historians from EnglandJournalists from EnglandBiographers from EnglandEditors from EnglandPeople from Manchester
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Michael Davie "Paul the disenchanted" The Observer (11 September 1977)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Johnson
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Paul Johnson
Paul Bede Johnson (2 November 1928 – 12 January 2023) was an English journalist, historian, speechwriter and author.
20 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Paul Johnson →
Related Quotes
"It is the nature of the Hindu religion to be tolerant and, in its own curious way, permissive. Under the socialist re…"
"I have just finished what is, without doubt, the nastiest book I have ever read. It is a new novel entitled Dr. No an…"
"[I]t is about time we destroyed the British class system"
"I would therefore abolish the monarchy and House of Lords, dispossess ... the public schools and Oxford and Cambridge…"
"Before I am denounced as a reactionary fuddy-duddy, let us pause an instant and see exactly what we mean by this "you…"
"But violence is an evil continuum which begins with the inflammatory verbal pursuit of class war, continues with Grun…"
"The article by Roald Dahl in the August Issue of Literary Review is, in my view, the most disgraceful item to appear …"
"This kind of racial abuse is, thank God, rare in British journalism nowadays. The present case is serious, however, b…"
"A Stalin functionary admitted, "Innocent people were arrested: naturally - otherwise no one would be frightened. If p…"
"Men are excessively ruthless and cruel not as a rule out of malice but from outraged righteousness. How much more is …"