I look at the 'debate' over Philpott, a man previously convicted of attempted murder, and sigh. Philpott's crimes were egregious, but not outwith the span of human behaviour before our present welfare dispensation, or in other systems. The sad, mad horror story of Amelia Dyer , the baby farmer, springs to mind. Dyer lived in a society which did prize large families, but only if they could be paid for, and which shamed those who brought forth life with no money in their pockets. She offered, as many did, a baby-farm response; for a one off payment, she would house and take care of the children whom society separated from their parent. In reality, she killed them. Wasn't she simply someone who acted with the tools of the system at hand to elaborate a sin born of greed and madness, just as Philpott--who manipulated exactly the opposite sort of social structure--was? The tale of how an obvious waster was, well, a murderous waster, has no conclusive point to it other than ...
This is a collection of personal and largely unedited observations covering the years from 2006 to now; I assert my copyright but am fine with links and footnotes. Some posts are obviously much more researched than others, and any errors are wholly mine except where I have innocently disseminated or linked to other bloggers or commentators.