Sir, – In his book The Conquest of Happiness, Bertrand Russell argued that impersonal interests are a key component of human well-being, and advocated taking a wider interest in history and the world than is necessary for managing our immediate business affairs.
Warning of the dangers of having too narrow a perspective, he takes the example of a person involved in a political contest, and suggests the following scenario: “... it may happen that in the course of the contest some opportunity of victory presents itself that involves the use of methods calculated to increase hatred, violence and suspicion in the world . . . If your mental purview is limited to the present, or if you have imbibed the doctrine that what is called efficiency is the only thing that matters, you will adopt such dubious means. Through them you will be victorious in your immediate purpose, while the more distant consequences may be disastrous.”
In the decades since this was written, Russell’s words have gone from being apposite to prescient. – Yours, etc,
COLIN WALSH,
Templeogue,
Dublin 6W.