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Britain on brink of 'decivilisation'
 Britain is on the brink of becoming a decivilised society in which adults are no longer able to exert discipline over the young, risking the potential barbarism of the rule-less society depicted in William Goldings famous novel, Lord of the Flies, according to a senior Conservative politician. Shadow trade and industry secretary Alan Duncan is scheduled to offer the grim assessment of British society in an address to the Centre for Policy Studies think thank. According to excerpts of his speech obtained by Britains Press Association, the Tory frontbencher will say that the country is facing a collapse of authority as teenagers lose their fear of adult institutions, resulting in some young people effectively living out the story of Goldings seminal work, in which a group of young children descent into barbarism after being stranded on a desert island with no adult presence and no established law and order provisions. The warning comes amid national alarm over the fatal shooting of three teenagers in south London within the space of a fortnight. Stressing that the impending risk of a decivilised society is the greatest threat currently facing Britain, Mr Duncan will go on to say: We need to empower teachers so that they can exert the control that too many parents are unwilling or unable to exert. The collapse of authority cannot remain undiscussed. If there is no fear of authority, there is no respect for it. It cannot make sense in a civilised society for children of school age to face the discipline they need in court rather than in class or in the home. Mr Duncan will also say that the country must muster the gumption to confront the decline of the education system, which he believes has been eroded by apathy and a lack of desire for achievement. Behind educational degradation lies a contempt for some people doing much better than others. Olympic sportsmen are part of an elite. If education is not about excellence, then its not about anything, he will say. There can be no success without the risk of failure. Our culture of achievement in education has become corrupted. Posted by: Fred 2007-02-17 |
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