"Naturally, the master class, through its parliaments and schools and newspapers, make the most desperate attempt to prevent us from realising our slavery"--Explain.

Answer:  The statement is taken from George Bernard Shaw's essay 'Freedom'. Here Shaw tries to establish or convey the fact that the master class, i.e. the rulers, always try their best to prevent common people from realising that we are slave to them. Them make attempt to prove it through the parliaments, the educational institutions and the news media. Everywhere we learn from the childhood that our land (England) is the land of the free because our forefathers won for us our freedom when they forced King John to sign the Magna Charta. They protected our freedom when they defeated the Spanish Armada. They did the same when they cut off the head of the autocratic ruler King Charles. When they obliged King William to accept the Bill of Rights and thus they strengthened the rights and freedom of the people of England. Besides England defeated Napoleon in the battles of Trafalgar and Waterloo. In twentieth century many country like Germany, Austria, Russia got freedom and their countrymen believed that the people of those countries gained political freedom. But nothing of that kind happened. Only one set of rulers was replaced by another and the common man got no benefit. When the people protest against it, they are told that they themselves are the authors of their miseries for they have the right to vote. They elect the persons who rule the country. Not only that, the people have the factory Acts, the Wages Boards, free dole, free education etc. So, What more do they expect? The people are free but they do not know the proper use of their freedom. That is why they suffer. But the bitter truth is that the ruling class control all the will of common people. In this way the master class tries to hide the truth that the poor are subject to the wishes of the rich.