Peasant Revolt

Revolution?

Be Careful What you Wish For

My History teacher, back when I was doing 'O' Levels (Only people of a certain age will remember them - Thatch ditched them in favour of GCSE's), found occasion to espouse the following statement ; Revolutions only change the head of State. It sounds alarmingly like a Leninist/Marxist type statement. But the evidence backs it up. Revolutions do not generally result in democratic solutions but just replace one head of state with a different yet equally autocratic one. 

The point of this is that voters should be aware of anyone claiming to offer a complete reset of current political status quo. They will likely end up with the same system, run by similar people. The faces change that's all. Reform anyone? A large collection of wealthy individuals funded by even wealthier ones all telling you that they are different but they are unlikely to want to change the system that made them wealthy in the first place!

This is just a little aside from the main thrust of my post today. I just thought I would say it. 

No, what interested me was an article on the radio I heard over the weekend about the peasants revolt of 1381. One of the most famous members of the revolt was a man called Wat Tyler . It did not end well for him. He was beheaded and all his concessions from Richard II were reversed almost immediately after his death.

There was an interesting comment, during the show, from one of the contributors in relation to the imposition a poll tax on every individual over 15 of 4 pence. This currency calculator will give you an idea of what 4 pence was worth in those days. The comment was that many of the protesters were upset ordinary people were being shaken down for what amounted to pennies when there better and more profitable targets for instance this man John of Gaunt. He was filthy rich!

This all got me thinking about the present day. There were very scary parallels about the precursors of the 1381 revolt and our present day economic troubles. But the message for me was clear. The current taxation system in the UK is doing exactly what it did in 1381. It is shaking us all down for what amounts to pennies and what the government should really be concentrating on is taxing the super rich. They can afford it. 

There is the trickle down theory about the super rich that their wealth permeates into society through their purchase of goods and services. This is mostly hokum, They holiday abroad and have their money invested overseas.

If the super rich are not prepared to be meaningful contributors to the wealth of the society they live amongst, then I will not shed a tear if they decide to live elsewhere with all their money. As they threaten. 

But, as the title alludes, be careful what you wish for. You will most likely end up with exactly the same boss and get your head chopped of and displayed on London Bridge to boot.