28 OCTOBER 1989, Page 11

A DICTIONARY OF CANT

RESPONSIBLE. Any government that wants responsible citizens can legislate them into being. It can't make citizens responsible, but it can hold them re- sponsible, which is usually enough to satisfy it, and can be done by coercion, which is especially satisfactory. Govern- ments not bound by written constitu- tions can even hold people responsible for the actions of other people, thus ensuring that there is always someone to punish, in any given circumstances. That technique is about to join the body of our employment legislation.

Nigel Burke