Clip: Yes Minister S03E06 The Whisky Priest

a basic rule of government is never look into anything you don't have to never set up an inquiry unless you know in advance what its findings will be we're talking about good and even our Church of England problem now our we are discussing right and wrong you may be Minister but I'm not it would be a serious misuse of government I'm sending arms to terrorists is wrong can't you see that Humphrey no Minister either you sell arms or you don't if you sell them they will inevitably end up with people who have the cash to buy them but not terrorists well I suppose we could put some sort of government health warning on the rifle this gun can seriously damage your health take this lightly Humphrey but we cannot close our eyes to something that is just morally wrong as this very well Minister if you insist on making me discuss moral issues may I point out to you that something is either morally wrong or it isn't it can't be slightly morally wrong and don't quibble Humphrey government isn't about morality what is it about stability keeping things going preventing Anarchy stopping society falling to bits still being here tomorrow what for what is the ultimate purpose of government if it isn't for doing good Minister government isn't about good and evil it's only about order or chaos and it's in order for Italian terrorists to get British bombs and you don't care it's not my job to care that's what politicians are for my job is to carry out government policy even if you think it's wrong well almost all government policy is wrong frightfully well carried out Humphrey have you ever known a civil servant to resign on a matter of principle I should know what it appoints just the first time I fully understand that you are purely committed to means and not to end well as far as I'm concerned Minister and all of my colleagues there is no difference between means and ends if you believe that Humphrey you will go to hell Minister I had no idea you had a theological bent you are a moral vacuum if you say so Minister it's time for your lunch appointment minister you're keeping very quiet Bernard what would you do about all this I would keep very quiet understand so Minister may be dropped this matter of the arm sales no we may not personally make an appointment for would you burn it this is just the sort of thing that the Prime Minister wants to know about I assure you Minister this is just the sort of thing the Prime Minister desperately wants not to know but we shall see about that indeed we will what's the matter Bernard oh nothing really sir Humphrey you look unhappy well I was just wondering if the minister was right actually very unlikely what about how about ends and means I mean will I end up as a moral vacuum - oh I hope so if you work hard enough makes me feel rather downcast if it's our job to carry out government policies shouldn't we believe in them what an extraordinary idea Bernard I have served 11 governments in the past 30 years if I believed in all their policies I would have been passionately committed to keeping out of the Common Market and passionately committed to going into it I would have been utterly convinced of the rightness of nationalizing steel and of D nationalizing it Andrey nationalizing it and capital punishment I'd have been a fervent retention list and an ardent abolitionist I would have been a Keynesian and a freedman I'd a Grammar School preserver and destroyer a nationalization freak and a privatization maniac but above all I would have been a stark staring raving schizophrenic so what do we believe in at this moment Bernard we believe in stopping the minister from informing the prime minister but why because once the Prime Minister knows there will have to be an inquiry like Watergate the investigation of a trivial break-in led to one ghastly revelation after another and finally the downfall of a president the golden rule is don't lift lids off cans of worms or hungry everything is connected to everything else who said that the cabinet secretary nearly right actually there was Lenin

Channel: Michael Sloth

Views: 991,788

Keywords:

Id: GPsHfVCFLhU

Length: 4min 50sec (290 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 21 2018