The acquisition and exercise of power is a game, and we must thank Rupert Murdoch for reminding us of this in his testimony to the Leveson inquiry this week. It takes someone with his 60 years of empire building to gaze out over the seething mass of politicians and greasy pole climbers and recognise them for what they are: short-term renters of influence who are willing to go to unedifying lengths to satisfy their needs.

If there was a haughtiness about Mr Murdoch’s latest round of testimony, it was justified. Owning newspapers, television stations and film studios and managing politicians’ ambitions is not a job for boy scouts.

Politicians and businesspeople must inevitably communicate. And despite the fevered wishes of some, it is not always sinister. If it were, we should immediately ban Davos, the Aspen Institute’s gatherings, Allen and Co’s Sun Valley conference and any other setting where the powerful gather to talk.