Man's inhumanity to man.

Following the first defeat of Napoleon at Leipzig in 1813, he was exiled on the island of Elba. The first French Republic had formed in 1789 following the revolution. Three years later, Louis XVI was sent to the guillotine and thus the revolution achieved its ultimate objective. "Better the devil you know" is the idiom which might have been created with the French in mind.

Two hundred years later, we witness the legacy of the Arab Spring in which a series of revolutions have led to regime changes across North Africa. The high number of migrants drowned off the Southern tip of Italy recently reminds us all of the high price which has to be paid for revolutions. But what would we rather? Was Egypt better off with Mubarak? Was Libya better off with Gadaffi? Sadly, such questions can only be answered in hindsight as the French will testify. The fact is that dictators are not a new phenomenon. History is riddled with them.

Syria continues its bitter civil war as rival factions vie for dominance while the West resists the urge to take sides. And rightly so. Becoming embroiled in the internal affairs of other countries seldom reaps dividends. At least this way, the conclusion will be reached more quickly - no matter how unpalatable the methods employed.

John Arlott was perhaps the finest observer of cricket there has ever been. As England embarked on life after the Second World War, the English cricket team departed for a tour of South Africa. It was during this tour that the England captain George Mann was bowled by his South African namesake "Tufty" Mann. Artlott commented on "Mann's inhumanity to Mann" in his characteristic Hampshire Burr and an army of listeners reflected on the truth of his words both literally and metaphorically.

Of course, the greatest ideological revolution of the twentieth century saw Russia and its neighbours adopting communism. In 2013, North Korea stands alone as the only remaining example of the Communist dream with China about to embark on a spending spree which will culminate in them owning the lion's share of London. Whatever their record on human rights, they have achieved something which seems to have eluded us for an awfully long time - they have amassed a gigantic budget surplus in the form of their sovereign wealth fund.

Across the pond, the US stands on the brink of economic disaster unless the Democrat and Republican protagonists can set aside their differences and for once put the interests of the people first. Failure to do so might raise the possibility of a new venue for revolution. That would make the crash of 2008 seem more like a ripple..