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UK Society
2004-05 Highlights General malaise Way back in 1990, both the Anglican and Catholic Archbishops had lamented the state of British society. Archbishop of Canterbury, Runcie had said: ‘This is not a decent society to live in… greed and self-interest are the driving forces of our society…’ Catholic Primate, Cardinal Basil Hume said: ‘We can no longer to be a Christian society… selfishness has been glamourised.’
Note that they point out the obvious but their Christianity has no solutions to offer because its leaders fear to directly condemn the capitalist creed that has created these conditions. Pope John Paul did come close. In his encyclical Hundredth Year (1991), he wrote: ‘People (in the West) have a lifestyle directed towards possessing and enjoying. Consumerism traps people in a web of superficial gratification… in an attempt to fill the spiritual void. The capitalist system blindly trusts market forces and ignores material and moral poverty.’ On World Peace Day (1 Jan 1999), the Pope again attacked ‘materialistic consumerism in which the exaltation of the individual and self-satisfaction… have become the ultimate goal of life.’
The church-sponsored paper Universe (15Sept91) editorialised: "By now, there can be no doubt we are a very sick society indeed. An insular post-imperial arrogance deludes us into thinking that we are the best and entitled to the best of everything. We fondly imagine the rest of the world envies us, our parliament, freedom of speech, judges, police, health service and even our TV. Underneath all else is a crisis of values and the very reason for living. Our TV & films portray gruesome savagery & violence as entertainment. People are prized for what they have."
More recently,
Madeleine Bunting, a Catholic columnist, wrote
(Guardian, 01Mar04):
In another respect, the debate over whether stress is real or not requires that emotion is real after all. The use of words such as "self-esteem", "trauma" and "stress" soared in newspapers during the 90s. Perhaps this kind of language encouraged the very phenomena it was describing and pathologised conditions which other generations have endured without fuss. Previous generations found meaning in their lives (despite catastrophes), knew their own identity and where they belonged. They could call upon extended family, community and their. But today the sheer meaninglessness and chaotic instability of our experiences expose us to despair."
The Prudential carried out a survey of 2000 people on health related matters(Daily Mail, 06 Jan 05). Prof Simon Capewell of Liverpool University who analysed the findings said: “These data, as with previous surveys, shows surprisingly high levels of anxiety and depression in the general population.” Nearly half suffer sleepless nights worrying about work or family. For 4 in 10, the problem is occasional, for 1 in 8 it is regular. Women are likely to suffer twice as frequently as men but some men deny or conceal their feelings. Young people lie awake more often than the older generation – 13% among 16-24 vs 7% of those over 65. 42% try to exercise physically 3 or more times a week but 43% exercise twice a month or less. The Prof said: “For many people, simply walking instead of driving would suffice.”
According to Martin Jacques, there is "a profound malaise at the heart of western society. The very notion of what it means to be human and the necessary conditions for human qualities to thrive are being eroded. Our sense of wellbeing rests is in decline – including our family relationships. The rise of individualism, unleashed in the 60s, has made self the universal reference point. The credo of the self has hijacked the fabric of our lives. Secondly, every nook and cranny of society has been commodified. Brands define not only the way we buy but also our lifestyle, our sense of identity. The logic of the market has saturated society, above all the Anglo-Saxon west. The market ideology influences not just for our jobs or shopping behaviour but our innermost selves & relationships."
Columnist Angela Lambert says that today we live in a rowdier, dirtier, disrespectful society. The absence of deference has created an unpleasant environment. Young women had a calming, civilizing influence among their boy friends. No longer – they are likely to join in vulgar displays, egging the men on. School kids are bored or stressed out and use drugs and alcohol in ever increasing quantities.
Money has been elevated to the highest good, measuring worth and status. Those at the top of society feel no obligation to help the less fortunate. It’s a throw-away society, with shopping the favourite western pursuit.
Columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown laments ‘The decline in civility... the corrosion of geniality’. She quoted Christopher Lee: ‘We live in an age of loss – of morals, ideals, manners, community, respect, truthfulness.’
Mental illness Rising mental illness seems an inevitable result of the rapid, disruptive changes driven by market capitalism. People get disorientated by constant change. Experience becomes utterly random and meaningless. You were doing well in your job but you still got fired; you thought your relationship was strong and then your partner leaves you. Appalling images of suffering in the world are interrupted by advertisements for car insurance: barbarism and banality go hand in hand. We struggle to make sense of our lives, to have purpose.
Doctors over-prescribe antidepressant drugs such as Prozac and Seroxat, because other forms of help don't seem to be available for those with mild depression and stress. 1 in 3 appointments with GPs now involves a patient reporting depression. Sales of Prozac, Seroxat, Lustral, Effexor and other drugs of the class have boomed as mild to moderate depression, anxiety and stress have become acceptable diseases of the late 20th and 21st centuries, linked to fast lifestyles and taxing jobs. US drug regulators have demanded a warning that some people might become suicidal on them, and British regulators also decided to ban most of them from use in children for the same reason.
References Guardian, Madeleine Bunting 01 March 04
Independent,
Angela Lambert, 20 Jul 04
Outlook,
Martin Jacques, 03Jan05 |