Alastair Campbell, Cherie Blair, Lord Levy, John Prescott, Geoffrey Robinson; all rushed out books containing embarrassing details about the Government. They have all made hundreds of thousands of pounds for themselves as a result.

Now, I may have got this wrong, but wasn't socialism supposed to be about laying aside individual greed and working for the common good?

The fact that so many senior Labour figures (and let's not forget Tony Blair's dash for the lucrative lecture circuit) are so obviously in it for themselves just goes to show why socialism is always doomed to failure.

People are motivated by the desire to better for themselves and their families more than they are by a duty to some ill-defined wider society.

The fact that this applies even to the self-professed socialists who run the country underlines why capitalism is a superior and fairer system and always will be.

Capitalism recognises what really motivates people and, through the profit motive, harnesses it for the common good: Give other people what they want and they give you money, don't and you end up poor.

This is why capitalist countries always end up with higher living standards than socialist ones.  We should all look and learn from the greedy dash for cash of Cherie and the rest of them. They are living proof that any economic system which depends on altruism is bound to fail.

It follows that the condition of the nation will be best advanced by the election of a Government committed to low taxes and enforceable property rights, not one which taxes working people to the hilt and preserves an enormous welfare state to cossett those who cannot be bothered to be self-reliant.

By their behaviour and willingness to damage the standing of Gordon Brown's government (not that he needs any help) Cherie, Preza and the rest of the motley crew are showing that notions of the "common good" are not the main motivating factors in their lives.

They may have spent their lives spouting "Labour values", but when push comes to shove it is the quest to enrich themselves and their families which dictates their behaviour.