Self-interest

From the Times Literary Supplement of October 8
"Shamateurs", by L.G. Mitchell, a review of the lives of Pitt the Younger by Hague and Turner

"Hague identifies pragmatism as an essential Pittite virtue, and this, combined with hard work, made Britain the fiscal wonder of the world. It was the bills of credit, commercial proposals and tax reforms littering Pitt's desk that defeated the French Revolution. Who would exchange a rising standard of living for the lowly delights of liberty, equality and fraternity?"

Perhaps a small comfort to the mourning Australians I know; you're not alone.