Love matters more than food in the UK

The reputable Young Foundation has published its annual survey of the state of nation in Britain. Below is a link to the survey and another to a good summary. Although the article focuses on poverty issues, we think the main lesson of the survey is that it confirms how non-material, intangible matters have overtaken material things in people’s value systems – and the state institutions have barely recognised this yet.

‘Being without a roof over your head brings you new rights. Having no one to talk to doesn’t. But there is little sign yet that the parties know quite how to deal with these issues. Nor would they feel comfortable acknowledging another striking finding, which is that many, from teenagers to refugees, value having a mobile phone more than they value having enough to eat,’ the article says.

Do we, then, need a Ministry of Love and Happiness? No. Provision of love is the provenance of autocracies. That’s what makes them so resilient. Yet democracies must make room for love and emotion, beyond banal patriotism. Otherwise populism and autothoritarianism can take foot even in Britain, the survey implies. How can democracy and love be reconsiled?

http://www.youngfoundation.org/files/images/YF_needsreport_screen.pdf

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6948000.ece