Tory Historian has been reading instead of going to exhibitions (well, apart from following the abysmally bad East meets West trail at the Tate Britain) and the book of choice is John O'Sullivan's "The President, the Pope and the Prime Minister", already out in the United States and due out in the UK in the spring. This will be a must-read for all conservatives with either a big 'C' or a small one as it tells the story of three conservatives (Reagan, Thatcher and John Paul II, since you ask) who, n ot so long ago, changed the world we all inhabit.
There will be more postings on the book but this time I would like to recall one of the players: John Paul II, the man who helped to reignite the fight against Communism in Eastern Europe and gave hope to many millions of people there. One does not have to be a Roman Catholic to understand and admire the man's achievement in the political world.
One thing leads to another and reading the book has led to looking up some of John Paul's better known sayings. Here is one I particularly like, as it is the all-purpose reply to anyone who whines about people's alienation in the free world with a free economy:
The historical experience of socialist countries has sadly demonstrated that collectivism does not do away with alienation but rather increases it, adding to it a lack of basic necessities and economic inefficiency.Freedom can, indeed, be quite frightening. But slavery will not provide anyone with security.
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