Not with a Bang But a Whimper: The Politics and Culture of Decline

by Theodore Dalrymple

Theodore Dalrymple's new book of essays follows on the extraordinary success of his earlier collections, Life at the Bottom and Our Culture, What's Left of It. No social critic today is more adept and incisive in exploring the state of our culture and the ideas that are changing our ways of life. In Not with a Bang But a Whimper, he takes the measure of our cultural decline, with special attention to Britain-its bureaucratic muddle, oppressive welfare mentality, and aimless youth-all pursued in the name of democracy and freedom. He shows how terrorism and the growing numbers of Muslim minorities have changed our public life. Also here are Mr. Dalrymple's trenchant observations on artists and ideologues, and on the questionable treatment of criminals and the mentally disturbed, his area of medical interest.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Politics, Philosophy, Cultural, Sociology, Crime

252 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Anthony Malcolm Daniels, who generally uses the pen name Theodore Dalrymple, is an English writer and retired prison doctor and psychiatrist. He worked in a number of Sub-Saharan African countries as well as in the east end of London. Before his retirement in 2005, he worked in City Hospital, Birmingham and Winson Green Prison in inner-city Birmingham, England.

Daniels is a contributing editor to City Journal, published by the Manhattan Institute, where he is the Dietrich Weismann Fellow. In addition to City Journal, his work has appeared in The British Medical Journal, The Times, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator, The Salisbury Review, National Review, and Axess magasin.

In 2011, Dalrymple received the 2011 Freedom Prize from the Flemish think tank Libera!.

Reviews

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Not with a Bang, Dalrymple writes about the loss of British culture and character. Dalrymple is a retired psychiatrist and prison physician who has worked all over the world. He is an excellent essayist and social commentator, and although I do not always agree with his views--I greatly admire his honesty, ferocity, and erudition. This volume was an interesting but somewhat disjointed collection of literary analysis (of such authors as Ibsen, Burgess, Orwell) and editorial on contemporary British ideology and politics. One of Dalrymple's recurring themes is crime and youth culture, and I enjoyed his essay about the original British version of A Clockwork Orange and Burgess's disgust with Kubrick for using the (publisher-pushed) American edition's ending for his film. In another chapter, Dalrymple, himself an atheist, lays bare the intellectual dishonesty in New Atheist works by the likes of Hitchens, Dawkins and others. I also thought his essays on multiculturalism, Islamic identity, and Muslim extremism in modern Britain were very illuminating given his background as a psychiatrist.

[JoséMaría BlancoWhite · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Liberals ... have destroyed the family and any notion of progress or improvement. They have made a world in which the only freedom is self-indulgence, a world from which -most terrible of all- prison can sometimes be a liberation."

A keen observer and one who can write so concisely, and express himself this well, has to be treasured by anyone who enjoys the art of reading: "I miss, for instance, the sudden illumination into the worldview of my patients that their replies to simple questions sometimes gave me." This simple idea would have cost me a whole to explain. The author has now retired from his psychiatric work in the slums of Britain, and has moved to the hardly safer land of France.

I specially enjoyed the chapters on Anthony Burgess's The Clockwork Orange, the futuristic story that proved so true in today's Britain. One of the sentences that describes in a nutshell the state of the Western world is: "So thoroughly have we drunk at the wells of collectivism that we see the state always as the solution to any problem, never as an obstacle to be overcome. One can gauge how completely collectivism has entered our soul -so that we are now a people of the government, for the government, by the government."

And how about this one for the state of our education system: "The intelligent are not taught what they could learn, while the unintelligent are taught what they cannot learn."

Dalrymple pinpoints the hypocrisy of the left, and how easily they get away with it among our modern bread-and-circus lovers: "One consequence of the liberal intelligentsia's song march through the institutions is the acceptance of the category of Thought-crime. On the other hand, political correctness permits genuine incitement to murder -such as the BEHEAD THOSE WHO INSULT ISLAM placards ? to go completely unpunished. Other people, other customs."

And how the state of law -even- has retreated from their role of protecting us to securing their purity of heart in an liberally brainwashed society: "Proving their purity of heart is now more important to them than securing the safety of our streets."

The book is written in the calm but amusing tone of this very cultured -while still down to earth- man, far from the rage of Mrs Fallaci, but equally shrewd observer.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theodore Dalrymple is the pseudonym of Anthony Daniels, a retired English doctor now living in France. He writes frequently of political, social, and philosophical matters. I had hoped this book, with its subtitle "The Politics and Culture of Decline" was a single essay that would examine the decline of Western civilization, its causes, its likely outcomes, and possible methods of avoiding the bad end. I was a little disappointed that it is instead a collection of separate though related vignettes. But my disappointment was counterbalanced by Dalrymple's brilliant use of language and engaging writing style. This book focuses on the decline of culture and lawfulness in Britain, but it is equally applicable to America since we seem to be following Britain's every bad example.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays written by a former prison psychiatrist. To say that he has a unique voice and strong opinions would be an understatement.

The book is a mix of literary criticism, social commentary and observations about human nature. It is sobering, and pessimistic. It only makes sense that someone who's worked with the most troubled and dysfunctional segments of society wouldn't have the most sunny disposition - not about those segments, and not about the society as a whole.

You won't find (nor read) many books like this these days, but we all should - find, read and consider.

[Marcos Junior · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darymple nos mostra como as idéias dos intelectuais progressistas se tornaram dominantes na Grã-Bretanha e passaram a serem implantadas pela burocracia governamental com um resultado arrasador paras as classes mais pobres, gerando ambientes familiares destruídos, dependência de ajuda governamental, falta de propósito e explodindo em atos de violência.

[Guille · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good discovery. Dalrymple seems to have a few very clear key ideas and basically writes about the same few things over and over, just with a different background. But somehow it works.

Noticing a moral decline in the West shouldn't be too difficult (you really have to be either naïve or amoral to miss it, imo). But finding what has caused and continues to cause this process is not that easy. One could accuse Dalrymple of oversimplifying, and they would probably be right, but that doesn't actually make him wrong.

The first essay in this collection is a perfect introduction because it really touches on a bunch of his driving ideas. One of those of his is the disconnect between idealism and reality. The road to hell is paved by good intentions and all that. From that first essay, The rush from judgement:

Experience has taught me that it is wrong and cruel to suspend judgment, that non-judgmentalism is, at best, indifference to the suffering of others, and, at worst, a disguised form of sadism.

What makes his arguments so powerful is the raw, hands-on experiences he's had in his professional career. Unlike some of the academics he criticises, he gets to see the results of their proposed policies and devastating ideologies. Whereas a criminology deals with papers, a prison doctor deals with criminals. Surprisingly (?) they reach very different conclusions from that!

Another one is how these ways of framing the problem(s) are conductive to victimhood (I need to read Pascal Bruckner already). Over and over, Dalrymple argues most people's lives are ultimately a result of their own choices. See for example What makes Dr Johnson great?:

it is one of the most serious defects of modern culture and the welfare state that they discourage self-examination by encouraging the imputation of all miseries to others, and thus have a disastrous effect upon human character

Moreover, not every way of living is the same, and education in the arts and sciences is key to finding different paths. Broken families and bad environments are a major issue, and sweeping that under the rug helps no one.

Another incredibly annoying misconception he attacks is the one correlating poverty and criminality. From What goes on in Mr Brown’s mind?:

the relation between poverty, even of the relative kind, and crime is far from a straightforward one, and is not directly causative. (If it were, to be poor would be to be criminal: not a very generous or liberal-minded thought, indeed one that is deeply demeaning to millions). The proximal cause of crime is the decision of the criminal to commit it. What goes on in his mind – the ideas he has, his system of morality, his desires, his estimate of his chances of being caught and what will happen to him if he is caught, and so forth – are absolutely crucial

Then, obviously (How not to do it):

The state has become a vast and intricate system of patronage, whose influence very few can entirely escape. It is essentially corporatist: the central government, avid for power, sets itself up as an authority on everything and claims to be omnicompetent both morally and in practice; and by means of taxation, licensing, regulation and bureaucracy, it destroys the independence of all organisations that intervene between it and the individual citizen.

Things have not improved on that front since 2008, mind you.

There are also little gems of (what should be) common sense. In Don’t legalise drugs he puts in simple terms an unfortunately common sequence:

There is a progression in the minds of men: first the unthinkable becomes thinkable, and then it becomes an orthodoxy whose truth seems so obvious that no one remembers that anyone ever thought differently.

And also:

An institution such as prison can work for society even if it does not work for an individual.

Another thing I quite enjoyed was finding a similar position to mine in terms of religion. I can't help but think religion is generally good (most religions, in most people, at least). But I also don't have any sort of religious faith. It's a hard circle to square, and I could see Dalrymple struggle with this himself in some parts. But the idea is pretty clear (Opiate lies):

heroin addiction is fundamentally a problem of the soul, if I may so put it: it is a problem of the meaning of life and of meaning in life.

From What the New Atheists don't see:

Samuel Beckett came up with a memorable line: ‘God doesn’t exist – the bastard!’ [...] Beckett’s line implies that God’s existence would solve some kind of problem – actually, a profound one: the transcendent purpose of human existence

Metaphysics is like nature: though you throw it out with a pitchfork, it always returns.

To regret religion is, in fact, to regret our civilisation and its monuments, its achievements and its legacy

If you empty the world of purpose, make it one of brute fact alone, you empty it (for many people, at any rate) of reasons for gratitude, and a sense of gratitude is necessary for both happiness and decency. For what can soon, and all too easily, replace gratitude is a sense of entitlement. Without gratitude, it is hard to appreciate, or be satisfied with, what you have: and life will become an existential shopping spree that no product satisfies.

There's also some mildly interesting literary commentary.

On J. G. Ballard (The marriage of reason and nightmare):

All of Ballard’s novels have a Robinson Crusoe theme: What happens to man when the props of civilisation are removed from him, as they so easily are, by external circumstances or by the operation of his secret desires, or by both in concert? Ballard’s past gave him an awareness of the fragility of things, even when they appear most solid

On Henrik Ibsen (Ibsen and his discontents):

When, as I have, you have met hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people abandoned in their childhood by one or both of their parents, on essentially the same grounds (‘I need my own space’), and you have seen the lasting despair and damage that such abandonment causes, it is difficult to read or see A Doll’s House without anger and revulsion

The gift of language should be a must-read for a certain sort of person. For those of us that know exactly what he's talking about it's not much of a novelty, but again, reading things that strike you as rare common sense is always refreshing:

With a very limited vocabulary, it is impossible to make, or at least to express, important distinctions and to examine any question with conceptual care. My patients often had no words to describe what they were feeling, except in the crudest possible way, with expostulations, exclamations and physical displays of emotion.

His thoughts were too complex for the words and the syntax available to him.

The last essay, After empire, touches on his experience in Rhodesia and some of his travels and work in Africa. Very much recommended. Just remember:

one goat can undo in an afternoon what it has taken decades to establish.

[bartosz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not With a Bang But a Whimper - The Politics and Culture of Decline is a collection of essays by Theodore Dalrymple.

The common thread of the articles gathered in the book is alluded to in the subtitle. The author explores policies and cultural shifts in Great Britain that contributed to its moral decline. The essays repeat the motifs of the author's previous books, though I agree with Dalrymple's observation, made in the analysis of The Road to Serfdom, that it's better to remind people of old truths than to introduce them to new ones.

The Gift of Language describes how mastery of a language is a necessary condition for people to express their ideas, and the folly of pretending that all languages and vernaculars are created equal. The author attacks the (recently popular) academic dogma that languages are arbitrary, that grammatical rules are "oppressive" and that language comes naturally by itself and doesn't have to be exercised (a direct rebuttal to S. Pinker's The Language Instinct).

The Specter Haunting Dresden is a haunting analysis of Germany's collective cognitive dissonance. On one hand Germans try to forget their own history and eschew their national identity (while trying to forcefully forge an European identity), yet on the other hand are fearful of forgetting the sins of their fathers. This dissonance is explored in relation to the bombing of Dresden. While the loss of "The Florence of Elbe" was both cultural and humanitarian, the nation was afraid of mourning it for the fear of being seen as Nazi sympathizers.

What the New Atheists Don't See is a poignant critique of some of the more prominent atheist writers of the last 20 years: Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennet's. Even though the author is himself an atheist he debates the arguments presented by the "New Atheists" (calling them, rightly, simplistic or failed) and presents a sociological and moral cases for Christianity.

A Prophetic and Violent Masterpiece is a review of A Clockwork Orange. Dalrymple points out the prophetic nature of Anthony Burgess's disturbing book, namely, it's prediction of roaming youth gangs terrorizing adults, the oversexualization of teens and their fragile egos. At the same time the author points out how the book is an exploration of human nature, the origins of good and evil, and psychological behaviorism.

The aforementioned articles are a few of the (almost) twenty articles of the book. The book certainly doesn't bow to controversy and no brick is unturned - from language, the works of art and artists, through the critiques of contemporary politicians and the politics of the social state, finishing on terrorism and multiculturalism. In my eyes Dalrymple is a master of profound book reviews, and this is especially seen in his analysis of A Clockwork Orange and the description of A Road to Serfdom. One can only hope to write with such insight someday!

A collection of particularly insightful essays, Not With a Bang But a Whimper, was a good way to start reading in 2017.

[Rick Skwiot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read and enjoyed, if that’s the right word, two of the curmudgeonly doctor Theodore Dalrymple’s admirably written and perceptive essay collections, “Our Culture, What’s Left of it: The Mandarins and the Masses” and “Not With a Bang but a Whimper: The Politics and Culture of Decline.” For I came away sadder and wiser, particularly regarding the sorry state of Great Britain, whose illegitimacy and crime rates now rival or exceed those of the U.S. There, as here, the breakdown of the family and resulting cultural, spiritual and moral decline has come with best of intentions and the worst of outcomes. And without much thought to addressing the spiraling rot by rescinding the laws and policies that fomented it.

But Dalrymple’s topics range far beyond politics and urban dysfunction (of which he has had ample firsthand knowledge, working as a prison psychiatrist.) He writes compellingly and freshly of literature, art, religion and more. I highly recommend both books—though not for those looking for cozy reads that posit an optimistic view of the future.

[A.I. Fabler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dalrymple has his followers, though his views can be too black to stomach for many. His day job as a prison doctor and psychologist explains the bleak view of humanity that he sometimes espouses, but underneath that mantle there is, I suspect, a disappointed idealist lurking. He wants people to be better, for their own sake. I personally subscribe to the view that anyone who isn't a cynic simply hasn't been paying attention. Here is a typical Dalrymple line taken from an article in the Spectator he wrote this week, dealing with the over-prescribing of anti-depressants: "The American psychiatrist, the late Thomas Szasz, once proposed that happiness should be considered an illness, on the grounds that it was rarely justified by circumstances and was usually based on delusion." The fact that Dalrymple saved up that reference for a suitable moment shows the wit of the man. I'm a fan.

[ENI · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read lots of books written by the author, it's easy to see that when Dalrymple writes about his experiences or his world view, it's difficult to drop the book. I easily breezed through the first half of his writing. However, whenever he veers into his numerous book reviews, you get the feeling that he has introduced the contents just to fill up the volume. That said, this book is a solid 4. Not just for its well thought out content, but his broad views and, boy, the book has aged quite well.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent collection of essays, this one culminating in a final sentence that chilled my soul after I read it.

[Felipe Sabino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um dos melhores títulos do Mestre dos Ensaios.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

[Louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might be tempted to read one more book from the same author.

[Ansgar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, as always with Dalrymple, but some chapters were rather dry...

[Charlotte Strandkvist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish it.

[George Eraclides · Rating 4 out of 5]

A magnificent essayist (an old art form which has been in decline) writing about the human condition.
No further recommendation needed.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of essays. A sampler, not a thematic collection. But Dalrymple brings his usual wit and insight to all of them, from medical issues in William Shakespeare's plays, to public discourse, to government bureaucracy, to the importance of standard English to slum children, to the psychology of terrorism.

Includes a great many appalling insights in the horrors of bureaucracy. One would say incompetence if there were any evidence that the bureaucrats were actually trying to carry out their professed purpose. For which, as Dalrymple points out, evidence is not exactly plentifully scattered on the grounds.

The reviews are the most mixed of them. Some I didn't like much at all. Then, that may be the subject matter. His interest in Ibsen is enlivened by seeing the practical results. Like Ghosts, where a character confidently states that those who spread venereal disease were the respectable husbands and fathers, not the artists living outside the bounds of matrimony -- a view which Dalrymple's clinical experience does not bear out.

Interesting stuff, touching on all levels of society.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this as a Christmas present from my son Mark. This is a good book for nibbling reading, in other words a book you leave around the toilet, or wherever you can do some hit and run reading. There are some interesting facts and anecdotes, with a lot of strong judgments, some of which I share and others I do not.

The author points out the dysfunctional nature of modern bureaucracy, when combined with political correctness, ideological agendas like multiculturalism and the arrogant belief of government(despite the ample evidence to the contrary) that the more the state meddles in our lives, the better off we are.

Apparently there are more bureaucrats in the British education ministry than teachers in the public sector.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Master essayist and thinker, Theodore Dalrymple is back with a new collection of 19 essays that will answer a bevy of questions on societal problems, or at least clearly explain what those problems are and how they are destroying all in its reach.
Focusing mainly on the UK, his country of origin, Dalrymple continues to document the struggle against human nature and the many sorrows that accompany the failure to reign in our inner impulses. As always, his sections dealing with crime and the lack of punishment are eye opening, especially since there is a renewed and growing movement on inmates “rights”.

As with his previous collections, this one is highly diverse.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another almost unbearably bleak collection of essays that, nevertheless, I found riveting. I don't usually enjoy books of the "the world is going to hell in a handbasket" variety, but Dalrymple's essays are not just Jeremiads--they often look at the social trends that cause society's problems instead of simply railing against them. He doesn't see any easy solutions, and in some cases, no solutions at all, but it is useful to see his analysis of the problems. I especially found his essays that look at Muslim populations in Britain interesting, and his last essay, "A Murderess's Tale," was heartbreaking. I also appreciated "The Gift of Language".

[Kip Lowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is an exceptional and hard hitting look at modern British culture with many implications for the U.S. As a psychiatrist and prison doctor, he argues that the current progressive views minimize the responsitilities for their own actions and leads to an almost encapsulated underclass of criminality and welfare dependence. I found his analysis of the British Police service simply jaw-dropping, and, as a side note, filled in the back drop for the movie "Hot Fuzz" for me. I found his searing analysis refreshing, because, like medical professionals do, he gets to the root causes of our cultural decline. I highly recommend this book and I will be reading more of his works myself.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I read this bloke as punishment, though for what I am not entirely sure. I can just about cope with the conservative vitriol and am mildly amused when I half agree with him, but his argumentation is lazy at best. After the essay on New Atheists I would have thrown the book out of the window had not the following essays on Dresden and Empire been positively inspiring. Everyone should read this bloke, at least to have something to disagree with!

[Iben · Rating 2 out of 5]

A recommendation from a conservative friend, I thought I'd give it a shot. It's actually far more engaging than I expected. Dalrymple is not as extreme as one would imagine, yet I did find myself shaking my head at the book every once in a while. Towards the end, it became a bit predictable, and I got a little bored.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great essayist! The last essay (After Empire) in this book has been reprinted in another one of his more recent books if memory serves right. I particularly like the essay (What Makes Dr Johnson Great?) though misprinted on the contents page. Worth a read!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

superb

[Jonathan]

None

[Paul Doody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doom-laden but interesting account of why modern society is so inimical to happiness.

[Alan Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. I had feared it might be pessimistic but in amongst the warnings is advice on how the problems of our culture might be repaired and how the lumpenproletariat aided.

[Frank Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second half was good, but very repetitive. The first half was mostly uninteresting. In summary, a disappointment after reading "Life at the Bottom".