How did I survive without nanny's advice?

I have a feeling that the future is already here in England. Hugo Rifkind

Have you noticed how you don't really hear the phrase “nanny state” any more? It seems to have fallen out of fashion. This could be mainly due to a very deliberate shift in Tory cultural linguistics (Dave and Sam, of course, would only ever talk about au pairs) but I fear that there is something altogether more insidious going on. We don't talk about the nanny state because the nanny state has won. It has seeped in.

I notice this most when abroad. For example, on recent trips to both India and Russia, I have found myself laughing - laughing - at the lack of fire escapes on minibuses. We're talking actual, genuine, incredulous amusement here. “Ho, ho, ho, they don't have any fire escapes.” And me, allegedly, a humorist. I'm not proud.
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Now nanny is telling you not to hurt yourself over Christmas. Chances are, you weren't really planning to, anyway. Chances are, moreover, that you probably thought you were quite well equipped to avoid hurting yourself at Christmas all by yourself.

But nanny disagrees. Nanny doesn't think that you are up to it. And, in time, you'll probably start to believe her. In time, as a result, you will grow to consider your wellbeing at Christmas not to be your own problem at all, but to be nanny's problem entirely. And that's nuts.

In other words, you used to have a duty not to burn down your house and slaughter your entire family. Now, because nanny has taken on that duty, you have a right not to burn down your house and slaughter your entire family. Needless to say, this makes no sense at all.