The early twentieth century has been a wretched time for many advanced economies, with stagnant real wages and widening inequality opening deep divisions in many societies. It has been suggested that the reality of how many people live is no longer captured by objective indicators of progress such as gross domestic product growth. The lives of many are being shaped by a different set of circumstances, including a health experience which is resulting in a lower life expectancy and in some cases heightened levels of physical and psychological pain.
Don Russell, Leadership, Monash University Publishing, In the National Interest, 2021 pp.54-5} citing William Davies, Nervous States: How Feeling Took Over the World, Vintage Books, London, 2018