Article | British Rioters The Spawn Of A Bankrupt Ruling Elite: "Talleyrand said that no one knew how sweet life could be who had not lived under the Ancien regime; one might add that no one has known unalloyed joy who has not heard the tinkle of plate glass, or seen flames lick up a building, in the alleged furtherance of a cause. Incidentally, part of the sweetness of life under the Ancien regime was the knowledge that it was far from sweet for everyone; and the imagined distress of the owners of the property that rioters destroy is part of the joy of rioting."
Sadly I think that Dalrymple is on to something here. How much political violence, from above or below, is motivated by the sheer joy the human heart takes in destruction for its own sake?
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