Panem et circenses: Modern Britain’s favorite strategy

By Jane Calvary, investigative journalist

Elites in the ancient Rome had an efficient mechanism to tackle public unrest and people’s disenchantment. They could pacify the commoners by diverting their attention from contemplating their subjugation thanks to the ingenious strategy coined as “Bread and Circuses.” They would distribute food and grain and sponsor public games and mass spectacles to temporarily relieve public anger during hard times.

Over two millennia on and the British ruling class is still so keen to resort to the strategy.  William and Kate Middleton’s newborn baby girl, Charlotte, sets the ground for a new modern-era bread and circus. And Britain chose (or better to say imposed) its 4th head of state.

The press exploded with frenzy, filling their front pages with photos of the new over-privileged baby girl. They were all full of talk of fairy tales and “Joyful Nation.” Many ran souvenir pullouts filled with the pictures of her parents showing off the innocent 8lb baby. Just like her brother’s birth, Charlotte’s birth was reported in tones that wouldn’t be out of place in an absolute monarchy like Saudi Arabia.

Many people already struggling with their finances tried to see the royal family as just like themselves. But behind all this artificial joy were reminders of the ugly truths that exist in Britain these days. The realities that are reforming the British Society to a “Downton Abbey” style society.

Princess Charlotte will have a much sweeter and easier childhood compared with other British kids. She won’t be able to even imagine the hard situation other British children are struggling with. The economic pressures on ordinary family budgets are pushing many British children deeper into poverty. Almost 80 percent of school staff are dealing with young pupils arriving at their classes hungry. One out of ten kids is receiving only 783 calories per day. This is half the amount of calories needed for a healthy child. Many children have to seek refuge at kids clubs knowing too well what it feels like to have an empty stomach. Hunger is increasingly turning into one of the biggest child problems even in London.

Unlike many British youths, the British Queen’s 5th great grandchild won’t be worried about finding a decent and proper job after graduation. She actually doesn’t need a job. She will be financed by public money and a vast source of private income. Like her father, baby Charlotte will enjoy receiving revenue from the Duchy of Cornwall. She will also receive an annual parliamentary allowance. In addition, she won’t have to have the slightest concern about a living place (or better to say a palace!). The public will pay for her accommodation as they do for the other royal family members. Many ordinary citizens’ living standards will be sacrificed in order to protect her high living.

However, the future for many British kids looks much daunting. Over 800,000 young people in the United Kingdom already feel they have not much to live for while 40% of the young people are experiencing mental health problems as a direct result of being jobless. Many can’t afford to study at universities, and they practically feel trapped.

The Fourth in Line to the British Throne will also be exempt from many British laws that haunt an ordinary citizen. Baby Charlotte is now guaranteed a posh life, living off the ordinary citizens’ taxes while she will be exempt from taxes herself. Holding garden parties and traveling around the world would be a fixed routine of her life. She is expected to live at least ten years longer than a normal Briton’s average life expectancy thanks to this elegant lifestyle.

While tens of thousands of Elizabeth II’s subjects are born in poverty, her 4th in line to the throne is born into a position of high status widening the inequality gap in modern Britain. Many British citizens already see the innocent newborn as a direct contradiction to all that modern Britain is standing for.

All these scenarios and many more could play out if Britain chooses to remain a prisoner of its past. Almost 370 years after it first abolished the Monarchy and long after many other nations dispensed with the feudal relics, the United Kingdom is still lumbered with one. But changes in public attitude may be as dramatic as it happened recently. During the general elections campaigns, it was for the first time that the issue of Republic and the abolition of the Monarchy was raised by the candidates.

Progressive Britain is already against the Monarchy, believing that there are always more important things for Britain to spend money on. They see the mainstream media and political elites as symphonic ideological phalanx around the institution that is nothing but the beacon of gross inequality and zilch political mobility.

If this trend continues, the monarchical system may be abolished sooner or later, and Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana may have to cope with challenges that other ordinary Britons may face.

JC/HJL

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