There is nothing an addict likes more, or that serves as better pretext for continuing his present way of life, than to place the weight of responsib… - Theodore Dalrymple

In the modern view, unbridled personal freedom is the only good to be pursued; any obstacle to it is a problem to be overcome.

There is no smoke without fire, and there is no ethically repugnant principle without logic.

Just imagine what the pattern of taking meals I have described actually means. The child who is subjected to it learns that, in the matter of when and how and what to eat, his appetite and opportunity are the only things he has to consult. Meals for him are not social occasions but nasty, solitary, British and short (and, I might add, frequent). He does not learn that, for the sake of the convenience or wishes of others, he sometimes has to refrain from eating or even to eat when he is not fully hungry. He does not learn to wait till others are served, or to share what food is on the table. He does not learn how to converse. These are very elementary social requirements that he does not acquire.