As most of this book’s readers will already know, Theodore Dalrymple is the pseudonym of Dr. Anthony Daniels, a retired physician who has worked within the most dysfunctional areas of British society and who now chronicles his responses to our failing culture in books, essays and book/essay collections. In SPOILT ROTTEN he looks at the issue of sentimentality and how it has corrupted our thought, our practice and our larger culture. His alternative to the emotionalism which characterizes much of our modern discourse is straightforward. It was summarized by Pascal: “Travaillons, donc, `a bien penser; voilà le principe de la morale.” Let us labor, then, to think clearly: that is the principle of morality.”
As Samuel Johnson would put it, we must ‘clear our minds of cant’ and that cant is ultimately traceable to Rousseau and the notion that man is basically good, he is corrupted by society and if he is freed from the constraints of society he will flourish and be happy. Dalrymple, on the other hand, believes in original sin (at least as a powerful metaphor) and argues for a discourse that is clearheaded, undergirded by facts, logic and reason and perceives that emotionalism leads to incoherence, chaos and bad choices.
His examples are more British than American, though both societies suffer under the weight of sentimentality and emotionalism. He writes at length, for example, of Gordon Brown’s desire to ‘help’ Africa, an effort with the success rate of America’s ‘war on poverty’. He argues, always, for individual responsibility, but Rousseau has already absolved us of individual responsibility for our actions by blaming our ills on society. This ideology is so powerful that it is immune to evidentiary arguments. If you point out that out-of-wedlock births and the dissolution of the family are major stepping stones on the path to poverty you will be promptly accused of ‘blaming the victim’.
He provides a number of key examples in 6 chapters, a long introduction, and a brief conclusion, among them the demand for public emoting, the use of family impact statements in criminal trials and the cult of victimology. Hence, the book is more like a single, extended essay than a scattershot examination of multiple issues.
The arguments for greater rigor and responsibility in education are proven on the book’s jacket, unfortunately. A blurb from the Spectator says that “Not since Christopher Hitchen’s assault on Mother Theresa have so many sacred cows been slaughtered.” It is the uncomfortable fact that Hitchens was not named Hitchen and Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s name did not include an H. Inside the jacket the list of blurbs includes an entry from the “Specator”; proofreading is no longer an important part of the publishing industry’s lifestyle. Self-esteem trumps the self-confidence that is earned through the efforts to be precise and correct.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Flip to back Flip to front
Follow the Authors
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Top reviews from other countries
JAW
A must read for the over emotional. You are insufferable!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 19, 2021
Partick Potter
Thought Provoking.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 27, 2017EscalatingEris
A timely volume for the Facebook generation
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 26, 2014
Jonathan Baldie
Britain's own Thomas Sowell
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 7, 2021
