The Spectator

Letters | 27 September 2018

Neutral technology

Sir: Jenny McCartney’s ‘wake-up call’ (22 September) reminded me of a 19th-century Scientific American piece I discovered describing a dangerous new trend ‘which robs the mind of valuable time that might be devoted to nobler acquirements, while it affords no benefit whatever to the body’. The fad? Chess.

I grew up bingeing on video games and cable TV. I heard similar concerns to Jenny’s from my parents, who were scolded for listening to The Beatles. Before them, books were seen as promoting sedentary behaviour. New technologies are neutral — they reflect both the light and dark sides of human nature. It is worth remembering that smartphones have helped get youngsters out exploring together (Pokémon Go), and taught them engineering and creative skills (Minecraft). Young people now are creative, entrepreneurial and less tempted by vice thanks to the access to information that technology allows. We should celebrate this.
Adam Waters

Ashtead, Surrey

What the people want

Sir: In response to Matthew Parris’s question, ‘Must the will of the people always be respected?’, I fear that the answer is unequivocally: yes. Surely the alternative is oligarchy? In answer to his five ‘what-ifs’, I, like Mr Parris, wobbled (badly, with no. 4 in particular) but bearing in mind Winston Churchill’s adage that ‘Democracy is the worst form of government except all those others that have been tried’ then I would come down on the side of democracy. The alternative, in which a minority seek to overturn a result reached democratically, is what one might call an ‘I know better than you’ culture.
Piers Wood

Dulverton, Somerset

American hypocrisy

Sir: In this week’s leader (‘Trading Blows’, 22 September) you quote President Donald Trump as saying ‘No tariffs, no barriers. That’s the way it should be. And no subsidies.’ You then go on to inform us of his pointing out the hypocrisy of Canada’s position by drawing attention to its punitive 270 per cent tariffs on US dairy products.

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