Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass

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a b Otteson, James (2006). Actual ethics. Cambridge University Press. p.173. ISBN 9781139457101 . Retrieved 6 September 2010. Richie: I think my theory holds water. Eddie: And what theory is that? Richie: That our diet has got something to do with what we eat. Eddie: I thought it was your pants that had something to do with what you'd eat. Daniels argues that the majority of the blame for these horrors lies at the feet of the intelligentsia and academia. He argues that ideas are the fundamental factor shaping human life. The ideas proffered by the intellectuals have had devastating effects on those poor individuals who have swallowed them wholesale. Determinism (whether it be of the economic or genetic variety) has led to fatalism among criminals and addicts: after all, they can’t help but do what they were determined to do by factors beyond their control. Relativism has led to a willful abstention from judging any action or individual as bad or as comparatively better or worse than anything else. Daniels recounts repeatedly counseling women who have been abused by violent boyfriends to avoid getting into relationships with such types of men; the women inevitably reply that it is wrong to judge people.

The main argument represented in the collection is that, rather than economics and wealth, modern-style poverty is described by a "wildly dysfunctional set of values." [8] A number of chapters discuss the "ferocious young egoist" that is meant to represent male youths who are violent and obsessive toward their significant others. Dalrymple also writes about his views on the "destruction of...family ties," arguing that without family ties it is nearly impossible to rise out of the underclass. [13] These issues, among others, are described as resulting from the "intellectual foundation...[which] makes a permanent underclass possible." This is meant to be directed against intellectuals and liberals that form the many ideas absorbed into the mentality of the underclass. [14] In 2004, a DVD featuring a compilation of violent scenes from Mayall and Edmondson throughout their career, including scenes from Bottom, was released as Mindless Violence: The Very Best of the Violent Bits. [24] See also [ edit ]

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Theodore Dalrymple is a physician and psychiatrist. As a young doctor he practiced medicine in Africa and the Pacific islands. Then he returned to England and practiced in the East End of London and inner-city Birmingham while volunteering in a nearby prison. He's observed, treated, and talked to thousands of London's poor. He's noticed a few things. a b Hocutt, Max (6 December 2002). "Life at the Bottom". MentalHelp.net . Retrieved 1 October 2010. Experience has taught me that it is wrong and cruel to suspend judgement, that nonjudgmentalism is at its best indifference to the suffering of others, at worst a disguised form of sadism. How can one respect people as members of the human race unless one holds them to a standard of conduct and truthfulness? How can people learn from experience unless they are told that they can and should change?"

Richie: Before you go say something nice. Eddie: Breasts! Richie: No. Eddie: Lager! Richie: No, something else. Eddie: I'm sorry Rich, but breasts and lager are the only nice things I know. Dalrymple, Theodore (2001). Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass. Ivan R. Dee. p.iv. ISBN 9781566633826 . Retrieved 6 September 2010.

Richie: I'm Church of England. What are you, Eddie? Eddie: I don't know. Richie: Well, what was your mother? Eddie: A wrestler.