Working people wanted to
throw off the chains that Karl Marx had claimed were shackling them – and
join the bourgeoisie which he hated. Their analysis of their situation was
essentially correct. The increasing prosperity and freedom of the ensuing 20
years proved them right.
But as we have surveyed the Murdoch scandal of the past fortnight, few could
deny that it has revealed how an international company has bullied and
bought its way to control of party leaderships, police forces and regulatory
processes. David Cameron, escaping skilfully from the tight corner into
which he had got himself, admitted as much. Mr Murdoch himself, like a tired
old Godfather, told the House of Commons media committee on Tuesday that he
was so often courted by prime ministers that he wished they would leave him
alone.
