Dickens, Pecksniff, Karl Marx and Boris Johnson
I was reminded about the links between Charles Dickens and Marx by an interesting piece in the Morning Star
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/christmas-carol-and-communist-manifesto
In particular the character of Pecksniff from Martin Chuzzlewit interests. Dickens novel was being serialised at exactly the same time as a Christmas Carol was published in 1843. Scrooge like Pecksniff is one of the great Dickensian figures. Scrooge is a neo-liberal miser who acts the part. Pecksniff is actually that different except that he acts, very differently, as a well-meaning person of benevolence.
Scrooge is a hypocrite because there is real reason for his miserly attitude but it is at least upfront.
The term Pecksniffian is apparently regarded as an insult in the House of Commons and one can understand why.
Marx was aware of the character and had probably read Dickens. In an article (April 30th 1853) on Gladstone’s Budget he referred to how the then Chancellor had played to the Pecksniffian character of MPs by claiming that his decision to increase taxes was a ‘just’ one designed to achieve equality. Marx went on to demonstrate that this was of course very far from the truth and in fact an exercise in hypocrisy.
Competition amongst current members of the House of Commons for the label of Pecksniffian is surely intense but Boris Johnson must lead the pack, claiming that he is acting for the best while doing deliberately precisely the opposite.
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