The game of life is played on a sloping pitch. Those playing downhill have all the advantages of fortuitous starts in the game. Those struggling uphill might complain about their lot, but carry on battling because that’s the only game in town.
Some players who have made it to the higher ranks switch teams. There are fewer players on the hilltop team but they always win.
Tycoons, press barons, oligarchs and those who have inherited fabulous wealth are fascinating creatures. They fill the pages of magazines like Hello, the Tatler and the New Yorker. We can’t get enough of their lifestyle, dream homes, haute couture, infidelities and fall from grace. Celebrity envy is rife. The ambition of the misguided is just to be famous, job done.
There are still people whose values are ethically sound. Peter Singer advocates a tithe system whereby those who have more than they need give some of their excess income to poorer people on a regular basis. Mr Singer is as good as his word. The philanthropy of billionaires is a luxury that boosts the reputation of the mighty. Bill Gates and a handful of charitable types make sizeable contributions to worthy causes like the fight against malaria.
But what of those who would topple the existing order and bring in the bulldozers to level the playing field? Karl Marx is out of favour. Stalin saw to that. Are there any radically new ideologies out there? If you want to change the world, you need a really big idea.
Religion fills the void. It has the advantage of being beyond refute. The word of God cannot be challenged. The supernatural is a curious citadel. Nothing can be proved in the world of the faithful, therefore nothing can be disproved. If God said that eating parrots on a Tuesday is wrong and that dyslexia can be cured by the laying on of hands there will be zealots who accept that teaching without question.
Religion and the state have powerful leaders. When the two combine new ideas don’t stand a chance.
In some Western democracies the church has less influence than it once had. Gay rights and women’s freedom to choose to abort unwanted pregnancies are indications of a changing attitude towards morality. Those within the church have played their part in the changes. Women priests, liberation theology and a liberal Pope offer hope to those who cannot accept the fire and brimstone version of religion.
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