"There's no such thing as society"

Ah yes, the much bandied about soundbite so often parroted by non-thinking, tribalist lefties. Often used while one of them is reaching their "full froth and spitting" climax trying to blame Thatcher for the woes of Britain, rather than new labour's disasterous application of their misguided, cultural Marxist experiment.

Still, why let facts get in the way of watching them approaching a vile, hate-fuelled, comically animated and class-envied embolism.

The soundbite in its full context from Peter Oborne’s article in the Spectator magazine in August 2002:

"I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.' 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society.

And, you know, there is no such thing as society.

There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. It's our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation."