25 Hay Festival

We read because what people discuss in company is only a fraction of our real lives and experiences. We read to understand ourselves better, to find our own neglected thoughts reflected in the words of geniuses, as Emerson puts it. We read to remember we are not alone, that the world is far broader and more interesting than we can imagine on a dull day, to restore hope and introduce a sobering solemnity in the midst of distraction and daily clutter.

No
Not at all, the great genius of Christianity - for example - was to separate itself from political concerns. In St Augustine's City of God, we find an invitation to Christians to leave politics to the 'earthly city' while they concentrate on the heavenly. This said, Christianity's focus on the dignity of envy individual was no doubt a contributing factor to the spread of democratic ideals.

A guilt about a) how he food was produced b) what the food might do to me when it's eaten. This said, such an approach is an ideal that tends to break down in the real world.

I would reform the media to make sure that it was easier for citizens to exercise informed choices in democratic and consumer matters. It's hard to have a democracy and a market society ith a media that inflames desire and prejudice.

Strange though it might seem, humans are endowed with a powerful capacity to care about things which have nothing to do with them or anyone they are related to or connected with in terms of blood line. We are literally able to worry about the fate of humanity as a whole - and to sacrifice ourselves for its sake. This altruism, or species-concern, is the source of some of our noblest impulses. However touching it is to see people caring for their families, it is perhaps even more moving to seem extend a hand to complete strangers.