THEAMERICANCONSERVATIVE (Theodore Dalrymple) - Something Doesn’t Look Right
What emergency could possibly justify omnipresent bureaucratic hectoring? The post Something Doesn’t Look Right appeared first on The American Conservative .
Takimag Something Doesn’t Look Right What emergency could possibly justify omnipresent bureaucratic hectoring? TakiMag Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images One might think that a severely alcoholic Stalinist could never be a good writer, let alone a fine novelist, but the case of Patrick Hamilton refutes this commonsensical opinion. His novel of an English boarding house during the war, The Slaves of Solitude, published in 1947, is a beautifully observed and completely non-ideological study of the character of the residents of just such an establishment. If one had to guess the political opinions…Open
AI:Theodore Dalrymple uses Patrick Hamilton’s 1947 novel *The Slaves of Solitude* to critique the modern resurgence of pervasive bureaucratic hectoring and state paternalism. Drawing parallels between wartime rationing mandates and contemporary public service announcements—ranging from transit safety warnings to instructions on how to interact with immigration officials—Dalrymple argues that this constant nagging serves no legitimate national emergency. Instead, he suggests this behavior stems from a fundamental distrust by the governing class toward the citizenry, creating an endless cycle of reminders designed to ensure obedience and provide perpetual employment for bureaucrats who view the population as inherently incapable or…Open