A Good Man?

[poliphilo]

If a good man does bad things is he still a good man?

Or- to narrow things down more specifically to the career of Gordon Brown- can a person claim to be in possession of "a moral compass" if he never seems to use it.

The defining characteristics of Brown's career have been cowardice, lack of principle, corrosive ambition, sulkiness, disloyalty and double-dealing. He tacitly supported the Iraq war, encouraged the banking free for all, created a culture of paranoia around himself, persistently undermined his colleagues- including Tony Blair- and (behind closed doors) sulked and fumed and bullied. In what way are these the actions of a "good" man?

I'm asking  because I've just been reading this. Gordon Brown has failed in most things, but he's somehow managed to sell us all on the notion that he's a moral person- that whole son of the manse thing.   Well, I beg to differ.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Brown comes from a very moral place- from Scottish Presbyterianism and Christian Socialism- and has betrayed almost everything he was taught and once stood for.

The young Brown would, I think, have been disgusted by the things his older self wound up doing in the pursuit and exercise of power.

Brown's exit

[methodius.livejournal.com]

I blogged about Brown's exit here, and quoted you.

I think Gordon Brown had a better moral compass than our Jacob Zuma, but our Thabo Mbeki had a better moral compass than Tony Blair.

Re: Brown's exit

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I like what you've written. Especially the bit about the war. I don't think we've yet faced up to the full wickedness of what we did in Iraq.