Quote Originally Posted by X
Yes, we Brits love rules. We like being told what to do and what our place in society is. We invent 'systems', 'processes' and beaurocracy in order that we don't need to excercise discretion or common sense - the 'system' will find the answer for us.

Unfortunately, we are amongst the worst beaurocrats in the world, in terms of efficiency. We also then follow the rules at the expense of fairness and natural justice.

People then either lose faith in those systems or begin to play the rules to their advantage, thus dropping out of taxpaying or law abiding society.

Our consumerist society has evolved to the point where people have an unrealistic sense of entitlement, or they are deluded about their net worth to society and the world. This inevitably leads to anger and bitterness about material wealth (or fame), but without any sense of responsibility or any concept of sacrifice or work to reach that goal.

You see evidence of this everywhere:

- parents blaming schools or society for their childrens behavioural problems
- people going on reality TV shows to 'get famous'
- a civil service that is wholly out of touch with society, staffed be people whose job is to 'follow rules', not actually think about outcomes
- an education system in disarray
- rising crime and a generation of abodoned feral youth.
Substitute "Brits" with Americans also add that we hate being told what to do and we should come out with something better, right? Nope, I swear that if the beginning was rewritten, the rest could stay the same.

Good posts!