A jaundiced note today. I hope it won't become a habit!
Decadence is not necessarily something to be ashamed of. If it were, we should all be ashamed of growing old. In fact, it's probably a lot more enjoyable living in a society on the way down than one on the way up - that is, before things start getting out of hand and the Chinese sorry Barbarians start hammering at the gates.
How does one recognise a decadent society?
- One in which we cannot consume milk unless it is chocolate flavoured. In the same way, we need the crutch of a "celebrity" to confront matters of politics, culture and leisure: ballroom dancing? No. Ballroom dancing with celebrities? Yes. A history of gardening? No thank you. A history of gardening written by a celebrity? Quite possibly.
- One in which as much if not more time and effort is spent preparing for an election than actually running a country.
- One in which all decisions of any importance are put off virtually indefinitely.
- One in which political movement is centrifugal rather than centripetal, i.e. independence for Corsica, the Basque Country, Scotland, Brittany, Kosovo, Flanders, etc. Compare this with China where the trend is towards hegemony: Tibet, Taiwan.
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