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Sir: In response to J. Lafferty (Letters, 29 December), the Catholic church would be so ecstatic at the prospect of any future succession to the throne involving a Catholic that it would grant dispensation from the obligation of any potential heirs being brought up as Catholics.
One has only to look at their readiness to approve annulments for members of the royal family and their unceasing sycophancy towards the upper reaches of our society to realise that the Church of Rome has little regard for its foot soldiers, but fawns at the feet of what it perceives as the aristocracy or intelligentsia.
John Bidwell
Kent
Sir: Your article by Michael Lind (‘The age of turboparalysis’, 15/22 December), makes a convincing plea for new economic thinking, even if as he rightly says, ‘It would be premature to predict the survival of present financial and economic integration in a world that wobbles between feeble recoveries and renewed recession.’ One positive result of the crisis has been the creation of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, now with a base in Oxford. There are two gaps in economic thinking today; one a new concept of whether in the creation of wealth we are creating long-term economic value (wealth and value are not the same thing); and the other, how we should reward people for the creation of value, not just monetary wealth. We might start by asking all boards to state the rationale of their executive compensation systems, and demonstrate how these reward the creation of long-term value.
Michael Griffiths
Italy
Sir: Not all post-bubble countries are suffering from turboparalysis. Iceland suffered a catastrophic bursting of its debt bubble. The government saw itself as powerless to do anything to avert the consequences and the result was that the currency took a tumble, the stock market fell by over 90 per cent and any poorly allocated capital was simply lost. Criminal activity within the banking system resulted in jail for the guilty, the incompetent hedge fund managers went back to fishing and the ruling political party found themselves jobless. It wasn’t all that pleasant but Iceland is now over it. By contrast western governments mistakenly see themselves as all powerful and are unwilling to take the political fallout from the popping of the debt bubble. Bankers are rewarded instead of punished and poorly allocated capital is being bailed out by the state. Governments are trying to maintain the status quo, hence the paralysis.
Humphry Hamilton
Johannesburg
Sir: I have read with interest Michael Karam’s article on my recent visit to Lebanon (Spectator.co.uk). Michael Karam makes the sensible and true point that Lebanon and the surrounding territories are riddled with duplicity and power-dealing. He focuses on Hezbollah and makes assumptions (which may be correct) concerning its political motives. In response I would say that no one group in that country has clean hands.
I like to think that I am not quite so naive as Michael assumes. Of course I realise there is a struggle for power. That is political reality. However, the only way forward is for the various religious and ethnic groups to stop fighting and live together in mutual respect. I make no apology for encouraging co-operation and promoting dialogue rather than warfare.
My meeting with Hezbollah was intended to help put the sad events of the past in the past. I understand how difficult that is and I also know how such acts are liable to be used negatively, but trust-building has to start somewhere.
Michael concludes by saying that the complexities of Middle Eastern politics are running rings around me. Michael, they are running rings around everyone! At least I am prepared to go into the situation with my eyes open, and speak out for peace and for the disadvantaged. I know that the visit has brought some small relief to the refugees. As for the wider political picture, who can say? It is up to the politicians to work that out.
Terry Waite
By email
Sir: Damian Thompson remarks on the close relationship of the Anglican Holy Trinity Brompton to the Catholic Brompton Oratory (‘Alpha male’, 15/22 December). On the night that the Berlin Wall fell, the wall separating these two churches also fell down, but I cannot now remember which way it fell.
Antony Wynn
London
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