Anyone who has kept hens knows that these unattractive creatures make a point of brutality to any among them sick or weak. Some other 'social' animals share this antisocial tendency. The human species has a wide pattern of response to distress, but under the influence of moral or religious pressures, or of medical fancies, it is as capable as hens of behaving badly to those least able to withstand unkindness. The story of organised care and welfare includes a large number of instances of what intrinsically appear as policies of systematic mental or physical cruelty.

LRB 31 August 1989 | PDF Download