Lord Norton is right: if information is only ever shared formally, that means that whoever is in charge of releasing that information gains an immense amount of power. Britain is a parliamentary democracy and its Parliament is thus sovereign, and it exercises its status by democratising its information away from the government.
This is not to say that the current system is perfect and unquestionable; it isn’t. Relying heavily on the personal means creating endless concentric and converging circles which are hard to penetrate for those who might not be of a certain world or of certain political persuasions. It also means that who you are, how you talk and whom you talk to can become more important than what you actually say and want to achieve, and the right ideas might only win if they are backed up by the right networks of people. If this isn’t ideal, it’s because human nature isn’t. Perhaps you think it isn’t universal behaviour and it can be altered, but this book will have to disagree with you, or at least watch you try to change it before changing its conclusion.
In the meantime, bottoms up! Let’s head to Strangers’. My round …
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CAST OF CHARACTERS
Nice try
Haven't You Heard Page 28