March 16th - There's so much to read if you have the time

 While I want to keep my sights set on finding a simple answer to the difficult question ,  it's truly uplifting to see that many great thinkers and writers have lots to say on the subject.  In case you’ve got hooked on the idea of reading more these are some other books I’ve found interesting:

John Lanchester’s ‘WHOOPS’ Why everyone owes everyone and no-one can pay -  he tries to explain international money which is no mean task -  I struggled a bit

Roger Scruton’s  ‘Green Philosophy’  - gives an interesting right-wing view on how to save the environment without state intrusion. Some of his writing seemed a little removed from real life to me but, wow, am I allowed to criticise the work of a ‘philosopher and atheist who specialises in aesthetics and went to Jesus College, Cambridge’?!

Oliver James’  ‘Affluenza’  - is written in his easy-read style but his findings (that rich people are very often unhappy)  didn’t really surprise me

David Harvey’s ‘The Enigma of Capital’ is a Marxist analysis,  which damns it in many people’s eyes, but I learnt a lot and it made sense to me

Zac Goldsmith, a Conservative back bench MP, is a critic of the the coalition government's lack of action on the environment.  In ‘The Constant Economy: How to create a stable society'  he says:  “Politicians now know the scale of the problems we face as a planet which gives them a moral and political imperative to take the necessary action.  They must either act or let others act. Business as usual is not an option.”  Straight to the point!

Last but by no means least I learnt much from the ‘Roots of Change’ study material produced by the International Society for Ecology and Culture which opened my eyes to the desperately sad examples of how globalisation has meant the end of many rich human cultures which have evolved over millennia.  You might like to set up a study group.