From Bryn Glover
Debora MacKenzie’s erudite review of three books about the pursuit of happiness amid increasing inequality and overconsumption was welcome (5 October, p 48). Any political analysis needs to be carefully judged and delicately balanced to avoid accusations of bias. Perhaps that is why MacKenzie left her most explosive notion to the final sentence: “Levelling depressingly uneven playing fields is their [governments’] patch.”
Other than by direct intervention to stem the flood of cash away from the poorest into the hands of the already super-rich, I fail to see how any progress in this matter could be achieved by this route. Perhaps we should look to Stéphane Hessel’s short book Time for Outrage! on the need for the youth of today to rise up against the discrepancies to which MacKenzie refers.
Cracoe, North Yorkshire, UK
