(With apologies to Sir John Tenniel.)
“She’s no good at Natural History,” observed the White Queen. “Shall I try her with Christian Science? If there was a sort of warfare going on in a kind of a country, and you wanted to stop it, and didn’t know how to, what course of inaction would you pursue?”
“Action you mean. Her White Majesty occasionally muddles things,” interposed the Red Queen.
“It amounts to much the same thing with us,” said the White Queen.
Alice pondered. “I suppose I should resign,” she hazarded.
Both Queens gasped and held up their hands in reprobation.
“A most improper suggestion,” said the White Queen severely. “Now I should simply convince my reasoning faculty that the war didn’t exist—and there’d be an end of it.”
“But,” objected Alice, “supposing the war was to assume that your reasoning faculty was wanting, and went on all the same?”
“The child is talking nonsense,” said the Red Queen; “she doesn’t know anything of Christian Science. Let’s try Political Economy. Supposing you were pledged to introduce a scheme for Old-Age Pensions, what would be your next step?”