Harry S. Truman once remarked that "A politician is a man who understands government, and it takes a politician to run a government. A statesman is a politician who’s been dead 10 or 15 years." Today we might say that it only takes 10 or 15 minutes from the death of a politician to turn them into a statesman, and that seems to be the case with many of the tributes to Tony Benn who died yesterday aged 88.
Tony Benn was involved in British politics for over 50 years, serving in government under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. He famously left Parliament in 2001 to "devote more time to politics", and until very shortly before his death remained politically active, campaigning, amongst many causes, against the war in Iraq and in support of human rights in general. The Guardian carried a full obituary and many related articles.
However, some of the tributes to Benn seem to praise his eloquence while criticising, or even dismissing, his socialist views, as if it were possible to separate the man from his beliefs. These tributes try to elevate him from a "politician" whose ideas are important but with whom we may agree or disagree, to a "statesman" who has our respect but whose ideas are frankly irrelevant.
Benn wanted to see a world that was fair and equitable to all, and one that was thoughtful and compassionate. He often found himself on the less popular (or distinctly unpopular) side of a debate, supporting the underdog because he felt the other, more popular side held too much power. He wanted a society that was truly democratic, in which excesses of power and influence would be constrained by governments but where governments themselves could be replaced. His vision of socialism was far from the Orwellian dystopia exemplified by the old Soviet Union or the contemporary North Korea.
The prevailing attitude in many western countries today is that acquiring wealth is a virtue, and the idea that the world might be a better place if some wealth were to be redistributed is anathema to many. Defenders of free-market capitalism, including many politicians and many journalists, refuse to contemplate that a viable alternative to capitalism is possible, even in theory. Tony Benn's eloquent advocacy of an alternative world view made many people understandably upset, as his views directly challenged their own wealth, and privilege, and power. His legacy is a cogent view of socialism that is clearly expressed and unashamed in its support for ordinary people rather than for the rich and powerful.
