There must be enormous piles of pluses and
minuses in the subject. For instance a lot
of manufacturing facilities these days are
very clean and tidy compared with the dusty
dull factories of 50 years ago. Many people
find they follow their parents into some
activity that keeps them. Education leads
many into careers that match their talents.

But I think that much of peoples annoyance
with their lot can be traced to the advent
of television. Over the years shows and
documentaries have emphasised that many are
born into affluence and most are savvy
enough to keep the wealth through sensible,
spread out investments. But balancing this
is much information about unlucky people who
are ill or old and weak. If you are well and
have a job it tends to keep you going!

What is very upsetting in the British scene
at the moment is the loss of a little bit of
freedom after retirement. The retirement age
rises to 68 in 20 years. Now the priviledged
person who promoted this thinks he can get
it up to 70 years. And the bare faced lie
that "everybody" is living longer continues to
emanate from our television sets!