Patriotism a class act
From Mr Jonathan Norton Sir: One day, journalists in the right-wing press will not only read George Orwell's remarks in The Lion and the Unicorn about the anti-patriotism of the British intelligentsia, but will turn the page and read Orwell's explanation of the phenomenon. It had nothing to do with 'guilt over Britain's imperial past', as Neil Clark claims ('Set our people free', 25 August), which was still a reality in 1941. The reason the intellectuals despised the feelings of the majority was that the majority despised and ignored them.
In any case, The Lion and the Unicorn is an odd choice of starting point if one wanted to create unquestioning admiration of British achievements and institutions. Most of the book is taken up with criticism of Britain's ruling class and demands for radical reform needed to win the war for national survival. Orwell only disliked the intellectuals of the little reviews for their 'querulous . . . absence of constructive suggestions'. He clearly thought that a reformed Britain would be one that the eggheads would finally feel at home in.
Jonathan Norton
London W14
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