Murder and the Eton Scholarship Exam

Here's a brilliant one from the elites of our country.  To double check that any prospective scholarship candidate will fit right in with the sons of the country Eton recently had this question in it's entrance exam:

So to become the Prime Minister in the good old tradition of your forebears of Eton you have to be able to justify the murder of civilians by your armed services, when civil order breaks down because of your incompetence and acceptance of the quick buck over the long term good of your people.

Apparently the headmaster of Eton has claimed that "this was an intellectual exercise, based on Machiavelli’s The Prince, and was taken out of context."  Oh really?  I was under the impression that intellectual exercises where brain exercises used to prepare the mind to respond to situations.  The intellectual version of the combat drills you have to do when you are in the armed services.  So if this was an 'intellectual exercise' then it is obviously one designed to prepare the young men of Eton to defend the indefensible solely in the name of 'order' and the party's good.  In short to win at all costs.

It doesn't matter how many are hurt and killed in the process, as long as you win, or your party wins that is all that is important.

Then people wonder why perfectly decent young man get carried away defending genocide by poverty in these public speaking competitions, which are modeled on Parliament for the reason that the winners add another point to their chances of getting into that august body.  Those that are unable to defend their subject, be that nuclear power or abortion of the disabled, are taught that they have no right to hold political opinions.

The people being trained to be the future elite of our world are not rewarded for the humane, compassionate or even sensible answer.  They are rewarded for smashing apart the argument of the 'enemy'.  That's why we have politicians who are willing to argue on forever defending their point, even when it is blatantly obvious that their point of view is wrong.  That's how they have been conditioned to view success.  Success to the future politicians of Eton is measured in destroying your 'enemies' in any way possible and enacting any policy your party tells you to, no matter how many people are hurt.

What is more it is a self perpetuating circle.  The masters of Eton were Eton boy's themselves and will do their best to pass on their grand 'vision' of Eton tradition to the next generation.

This wasn't a homework question - it was a question in the scholarship examination.  The examination sat by the young hopefuls who want, or their parents want, to join the ranks of the privileged and powerful by merit of brains rather than old family money.  Most of the fee-taking schools have this system in place as they have to keep up the appearance of public conscience so they can hang on to their tax exempt charity status (yes, Eton college is actually a charity).  However, by including questions like the one above, it makes sure that the middle class swots it takes on are mentally mouldable enough that they can be fashioned into little replicas of their High Born class mates.

If you want to be part of the ruling elite you have to share the elites values and one of those values is holding on to power at any cost.  That's telling, isn't it?

Also one other thing, Machiavelli's 'The Prince' is a satire, not an instruction manual.  Do any of those Eton 'boys' understand what a political satire is?