“Now, though this prodigious mass of humbug is meant to delude the enslaved masses only, it ends in deluding the master class much more completely.”—Explain the line.

Answer: This line occurs in George Bernard Shaw's essay “Freedom”. According to the author, the ruling class first tries to delude the poor people by false propaganda that they have got the real freedom when they are being shamelessly exploited and cheated by the master class. But finally, it is found that this false prodigious propaganda deludes the master class much more than the common people who are supposed to be deluded. But how does this strange thing happen? The essayist has explained it superbly. According to him, the mind of a boy from the family of a gentleman, or ruling class is formed at a preparatory school for the sons of gentlemen. Then that boy continues his organon at a public school and university. Here that boy is so much influenced by falsified and distorted history and dishonest political and economic theories that he is the boy comes to believe that he begins to believe that he is a fine fellow. He is always superior to the ordinary men. He also begins to believe that ordinary people’s duty it is to brush his clothes, carry his parcels and the ordinary men should act as his servants. That boy think that he should occupy high places in society. And at any cost he must keep his position as master. Even great philosopher Aristotle believed that law, order and government would be impossible unless the rulers are beautifully dressed and decorated, robed and uniformed, speaking with a special accent, travelling in first class coaches. The rulers must boast of a lifestyle that would produce an impression of godlike superiority on the minds of the common man. Thus these deluded knowledge in school, college, university begins to register so much permanent impression in the minds of the boys of the ruling class, that they begin to think themselves as godlike and they are born to rule the common people with order.