10W thanks or the detailed response. Clearly you are quoting the "party line" and you are correct within the context of the systems currently applied by ATC. My point is that the system is IMHO not a good one from the pilot's point of view, not well understood by some pilots including me ( a TRE with more than 10000 hrs) and not promulgated to pilots in any way that I can find.
In terms of it's name, "radar control" implies positive control like IFR, and as for "service" I struggle to see what benefit I am receiving from this "service". I must do as I am told and only deviate if I am about to crash. Seems like ATC has all the power but no responsibility, and the only ones benefitting from the service are ATC.
In terms of your last para, I think you make the point well that ATC have lost the plot with regard to what they should be trying to achieve, and a great deal of this results from the first priority being to not get sued, flight safety is somewhere further down the list. Please don't take personal offence by my comments, it is an institutional issue not a personal one.