John Bercow Quotes
Fairness is not about statistical equality.
Bercow, John. Unspeakable: The Autobiography. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2020.
The power structure of England and the English administrators of South Africa were strong advocates of racial equality at the beginning of the 19th century. They insisted on equal administration of law. However the Boer white population could think of nothing more absurd. In a sense the Boers were much like the Southern Whites at the same time. The South African government however could not enforce its equality policies in the rural area – the majority of South Africa at the time. When democracy and self rule came to South Africa, the racially moderating force of the English was minimized and the majority of South Africans wanted a racially segregated society. Apartheid resulted.
The Prime Minister had begun his career as a proponent of apartheid, but by 1990 had reversed course.
While Hoover was generally correct, he was also of the opinion that providing equal opportunity was all that the government needed to do. His lack of attention to other economic variables and potential problems made him totally unprepared for the Great Depression which would occur the following year and his narrow view of the role of government provided no relief or improvement as those of his successor FDR did.
Jackson was a great champion of equality and equal rights, but for whites only. He had no problem with Negro Slavery and had a major bias against Indians. He was the only U. S President to refuse to obey a decision of the Supreme Court when he forced the removal of the Cherokee Indians from their lands and forced them to the Oklahoma Territory.
One of the earliest codes of equality before the law for both rich and poor.
He was running on the Bull Moose Party ticket. The “square deal” phrase was a major slogan of the campaign and had first been used earlier in 1903 and 1905. See {32586} and {32766}. The Smithsonian Institution has even preserved the audio of this quotation. See their website.
John Simon Bercow PC is a British politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. He was the first MP who was elected Speaker without previously serving as a Deputy Speaker since Selwyn Lloyd in 1971. Prior to his election as Speaker, he was a Conservative MP.
