Not the whole truth – but quite a good insight into it

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From the Guardian, by Theo Hobson:

A basic British political division is not between left and right, or liberal and conservative, but between Schlegel and Wilcox. What separates the two families of EM Forster's novel Howards End is that the Schlegels worry about how to make the world fairer, with occasionally embarrassing consequences, while the Wilcoxes worry about their stocks and shares. In other words, the Schlegels are afflicted by the complaint we sneeringly call liberal guilt.

Sneer ye not. Liberal guilt is nothing to be ashamed of. It's really just the political expression of that rather old-fashioned thing, conscience.

…..

In Howards End, Margaret Schlegel eventually forms a surprising coalition with Mr Wilcox. It won't last; it can't. You're either a Schlegel or a Wilcox. And I assure you that Schlegelism will bounce back.

Very good.


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