How the political class is able to do what it does

This is a fascinating account of British private ‘education’ from the 1960s.  I won’t copy and paste.  Just click the link at the bottom.

I attended a Headmasters Conference prep school at that time, and can recall similar events as described.  Aged eight, we were told that we were being prepared as leaders for the next war. The Dunkirk Spirit was to be encouraged, admiration for Churchill, war heroes like Douglas Bader, and so on.  Simple childhood emotions, such as trust of parents who dropped you off at the place, were under attack.  Punishments were physically painful, and capricious.

If you wonder how Boris Johnson or Theresa May are able to disassociate themselves from normal human feelings, and lie about wars and so on, this gives you the story.  In fact, this piece is mostly about the school attended by Boris Johnson, and at a similar time.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/04/abuse-britain-private-schools-personal-memoir