Never Trust a Technocrat—A Review of The Powerhouse by Richard Packer

Abstract

The Powerhouse - a political fantasy for Radio. Richard Packer, 1972, Published as Gargoyle Poets No 3, by Makar, Univserity of Queensland.

This is not a review of a play. This is a review of a script. It is of no more meaning than a review of the Table of Contents of a book. But all that is possible.

The Powerhouse is much more than McCabe PM rescripted for the Young Elizabthans, but like that awful novel, it seeks to investigate the nature of power and the men who use it.

Politics is the stuff of the play, but not the point. Moral issues matter. Decisions, questions - does Science have a conscience? Does democracy have
a brain? At what point does autocracy confer the right to revolution - or if one happens to be Director of the Powerhouse - coup d'etat? Would you asphyxiate two children to save the world? I'm damned sure I would.