Bundy's target is black Americans whose idleness he had observed when driving past a public housing project. "I've often wondered," he mused, "are negroes better off as slaves, picking cotton, having a family life and doing things, or are they better under government subsidy?"
A damn good point, Clive, some readers are doubtless thinking, mindful of the contribution slaves in general have made, be it Aesop, the building of the pyramids and much more.
Slavery has been part of every society throughout history and still exists in parts of the world. Clive would take heart from the youthful Haile Selassie's experience following his enthusiasm to modernise then Abyssinia, this gloriously parodied in Evelyn Waugh's novel Black Mischief.
Abyssinia, now Ethiopia, comprised different tribal groups, some in a remote northern region, then beyond the reach of government. When the Emperor decreed slavery abolished, one tribe, whose social structure comprised interdependence with slaves, understandably ignored this. So the army intervened and the slaves were ejected from their respective households, the soldiers remaining to uphold the new order.
But they were forced to abandon their busybody intrusion after it induced great distress as the slaves now loitered, weeping helplessly outside their former masters' homes while the slave-owners, having no idea how to cook, let alone make their beds, meant both complementary factions began to starve. So the former tidy arrangement was restored to everyone's satisfaction.
Here's the point. As far back as Aristotle, who argued that all employees are de facto slaves, an observation also made by Ishmael in Moby-Dick outlining his servitude on the Pequod, most people are at least partial slaves, evidenced by the colloquialism "wage-slave".
Sensitivity to that was certainly my youthful motive, namely to be self-employed, answerable to no one and doing I cared not what, something increasing numbers of today's young now target.
I suspect numerous housewives, particularly in lower income families, privately harbour resentment at being virtual slaves to their families. As women's lib pioneer Betty Friedan wrote about suburban housewives struggling with family demands, "They must lie in bed at night and wonder 'is this all?"'
Nevertheless, the evidence suggests many folk actually prefer the certainties of self-imposed servitude, be it a priest opting out of life, an under-duress housewife or a young fellow joining the army. Alternatively, perhaps they make these choices too young and wake to their realities too late.
However, others will possibly say that like the Ethiopian slaves, they're perfectly content with their lot and do enjoy some leisure time. In fact, so have most slaves throughout history, reflected, for example, by the constant griping in late 19th century Cuban newspapers about drunken slaves cavorting in Havana on Saturday nights.
There's no doubt Clive Bundy may be on to something. Conservative Party leader Colin Craig should introduce this as a nice fit new policy plank, that is if an increasingly desperate David Cunliffe doesn't nick it first.
