Recreating an Ancient Way of Life

The Government of the Dis-United Kingdom has sent out guidance to Head Teachers on how to combat the growing menace of children's gangs in our society, including advice on how to monitor behaviour in order to discover warning signs that a child might be getting involved in gang culture.
Down on our little allotment in South Gloucestershire Nosher and me were struck by the irony that is, it would seem, apparently lost on so many people.
We were, as usual in our old deckchairs enjoying a glass of Nosher's parsnip wine that lunchtime, sitting in the shade of his old allotment shed.
'It is bizarre' Nosher began 'that so few people in politics or wider society appreciate the significance of what is going on here.'
'Are you talking about the increased surveillance of children?' I asked 'surely that mirrors what is going on in wider society?'
Nosher glanced at me as if I was one of the ignorant masses. I do like winding him up.
'No!' he protested 'I'm talking about the way in which the Enlightenment Project, and the great liberal campaign to reform society through reason and mass education, has gone horribly wrong!'
'Ah! I begin to see. You are saying that the structure, organisation, and processes of these children's gangs express an ancient urge to dominate and be dominated, to bind together through some kindred spirit of violence and brutality. Is that it?'
Nosher's face relaxed a little.
'I think you're getting there' he agreed, smiling broadly. 'My reading of classical history and its literature leads me to believe that human society was originally built on dominance and greed, on supremacy and submission, on violence and cruelty. That's what these youngsters are, unwittingly, recreating when they form a gang based on bullying and initiation rituals, with a hierarachy of ranks and a strong "us" and "them" culture.'
Now it was my turn to smile.
'If what you're saying is that they are recreating an ancient way of life' I said 'then you are, in my view, quite right. If you had read my book you would have found two chapters devoted entirely to the culture of the archaic warrior-hero and its legacy. You might like to read it again.'
'Is that were I saw that idea, then?' said Nosher, looking taken aback. 'I thought I'd come up with it all by myself! Never mind, what matters is that it is an idea that should be taken seriously.'
I sipped my parsnip wine and considered the possibility that the human race is incapable of improving itself.
'Well, if those idiots who think they are in charge did take it seriously' I said 'we would see a very different kind of socialisation process taking place in our schools. But it may be already too late to prevent the implosion of our culture. We will have to wait and see.'
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