Grotesque inequality and anxiety
NOVANEWS
By Graham Peebles
Anxiety and depression are at unprecedented levels worldwide and the numbers are growing. The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes it as an epidemic, and estimates that 615 million people are suffering from one or other of these debilitating diseases.
This is a staggering number which in all likelihood is an indication only of the depth of the problem. Anxiety, as documented by the WHO, is primarily a developed nation’s issue. The 800 million people living in extreme poverty in India, for example, are not polled, and are too overwhelmed by the daily demand for survival to even question if they feel depressed or anxious. The same applies to the 500 million living on the margins of life in sub-Saharan Africa, or rural China.
Suffocating expectation
What are...