As short a time ago as the 1970s ,when I first entered the teaching profession [?], I can remember the deep moral outrage of so many, almost certainly a heavy majority of people, when someone was branded a thief.At a school in a pit village, there was a profound sense of disappointment combined with disgust whenever such things were discovered. It appeared that the feeling was shared equally by staff, parents and pupils.
Latterly, this has gradually been eroded. Thievery today may raise the odd eyebrow; the odd comment but that is as far as it seems to go.
It is no longer considered to be a sign of social breakdown or moral deterioration. It is unlikely to result in school expulsions. It is seldom prosecuted and when it is, is seldom punished. This has largely coincided with a period in which the world has become less immoral and considerably more amoral.
These attitudes have been derived at least in part, from the mad, leftwing, world view that 'property is theft', a slogan originally coined by French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon [photo] in 1840. In true, hypocritical fashion, the generally well-heeled, liberal left cast admiring glances in that direction.
May I point out that when homes are burgled, it is much more likely to be the working class rather than the middle classes who will suffer.
