If only Stalin knew

Josef Stalin was adored by his people. He was also a charismatic man with a plan. He had the vision to take the Soviet Union forward to prosperity. But there were famines and genocide. The starving were not exiled to Botany Bay for stealing a handful of corn, hundreds of thousands of them were shot, all while Stalin occupied the Kremlin.

The means of production were breaking down all around. Newly manufactured tractors idled in fields, because simple replacement parts were never produced, causing production targets to be missed, with a whole host of consequential ramifications.

Yet the people remained in awe of their genocidal oppressor. “If only Stalin knew”, they would say, “he would end the suffering and fix all these problems”. It was Beria, or some other apparatchik, who must be responsible.

“If only Stalin knew” has become a phrase to describe a characteristic of human nature. We grow to worship those who inspire us to revolution and reject all evidence when they drive us into the sea. Faults and failings are blamed on others. If only the man (less commonly, woman) at the top was in complete control, this mess would have been avoided.

You will note this morning that “King took a backseat during the recruitment process as Graeme Park, with Stewart Robertson and Andrew Dickson alongside, drove through Caixinha’s move… to Ibrox”.

The sentiment is clear: what is needed is not less influence from King, but more involvement. The plan is great, it just needs to be executed the way King wants it to be.

It’s not like we haven’t warn them.

BRENDAN RODGERS – THE ROAD TO PARADISE is now on sale at www.cqnbookstore.com

On sale now at CQN bookstore.com