# VI: ’Ware Politicians explained — Disenchantment > Chapter companion for Disenchantment by C. E. Montague. ## What happens The narrator reflects on the soldier's experience of life in a communist state within the army, where all choices are removed and men become 'ex-Economic Man.' He contrasts the communal, regimented life with individualistic desires, and observes that some temperaments thrive under such systems. After the war, the demobilized soldier confronts political disillusionment, distrusting both Toryism and Communism, and feeling alienated from all established parties. The chapter concludes with a meditation on how a century of peace bred political complacency, and how the war's upheaval has forged a new, skeptical, and critical temper in the populace. ## Themes in this chapter ### Disillusionment and Disenchantment The narrator expresses deep disillusionment with all political creeds—Communism, Toryism, Liberalism—after the war, finding none satisfactory. ### Critique of Authority and Institutions The chapter criticizes the War Office's inefficiency, the 'natural rulers' of society, and the failure of political leaders during the war. ### Class and Social Inequality The narrator contrasts the communal life of soldiers with individualistic bourgeois existence, and notes the gap between rulers and the ruled. ### Simplification vs. Complexity The chapter explores the tension between the simplified, regimented life of the soldier and the complex, self-directed life of the civilian. ## Character check-ins ### Unknown Narrator The narrator reflects on his own experiences as a New Army officer and a demobilized soldier, observing the psychological and political effects of the war. ## Key lines > When a man enlisted during the war he found himself living the life of the common man in a Communist State. Once inside he had no more choices to make than a Russian under the Soviet. Upon enlisting, a soldier entered a life as controlled as that of a citizen in a communist state, with all decisions made for him. _The narrator draws a direct parallel between military life and Soviet communism, emphasizing the loss of personal autonomy._ > He had ceased to be Economic Man, the being whom we were brought up to regard as causing the world to go round by making a beeline to the best pay available. The soldier was no longer the self-interested economic agent who seeks the highest wages, as taught in civilian life. _The narrator highlights the transformation from individualistic economic behavior to a collectivist, non-market existence._ > Perhaps you concluded, after a time, that there must be some temperaments communistic or socialistic by nature, like the 'souls Christian by nature' of the theologians. The narrator suggests that some people are naturally inclined to communal living, just as some are naturally Christian. _This reflects the theme of simplification vs. complexity, as the narrator ponders innate human types._ > Communism delights him not, nor Toryism either. Nor, indeed, any other political creed of all those that he knows. The demobilized soldier finds no satisfaction in any political ideology, whether communist, conservative, or liberal. _This encapsulates the chapter's central disillusionment with all political systems._ > Great masses of men have become more freely critical of the claims of institutions and political creeds and parties which they used to accept without much scrutiny. Many people now question the authority of institutions and political beliefs they once took for granted. _The narrator identifies a new, skeptical public mood as a key outcome of the war._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/disenchantment_se/chapters/vi-ware-politicians - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/disenchantment_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/disenchantment_se/chapters