Yesterday, after months of storm clouds, British prime minister Keir StarmerThe leader of the UK Labour Party since 2020 and British prime minister since July 2024. finally let loose the sunbeams, telling his party conference there is light at the end of the tunnel.

But for many, with the economy stuttering, services crumbling, wars intensifying and climate breakdown accelerating, the world seems as dark a place as ever.

So some say little wonder negative emotions are on the rise throughout the world. One survey found 22% of adults feel angry on a daily basis, and 37% experience a lot of stress.¹

What is more, rage and rudeness have a multiplier effect. If someone is rude to you, it will make you feel wronged by the world, giving you the excuse you need to lash out at someone else, who then will do the same to the next person, and so on.

Certainly, service workers are feeling the effects. Fully 70% of shopworkers report they have experienced verbal abuse, 46% threats, and 18% an actual assault, from their customers.²

So what has made us so nasty? Experts have many answers. The Covid-19 pandemic forced us into our own bubbles for months, and we came out estranged from other people.³ The cost of livingThe money that someone needs to afford basic food, housing and clothes. crisis and competitive job market mean people are working longer hours for a lower quality of life, sparking resentment.⁴

And then there are the long-term factors: the atomisationThe breaking of bonds or splitting of something into smaller groups. of living in big, anonymous cities instead of small communities. Shrinking social circles, leading to more loneliness and alienationEmotional separation. It derives from a Latin word meaning foreign or strange..⁵ One bad news cycle after another.

Explaining it is one thing, but solving it is trickier. Some think the only answer is a good education.

The idea of teaching people good moral behaviour is an old one. Ancient Greek philosopher AristotleA student of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and the father of political philosophy. believed morality must be instilled in students as a habit, so they would behave morally by default. At the same time, they should be taught wisdom, so they can understand why moral behaviour is rationally good.

One modern thinker who took up his mantle was Iris MurdochAn Irish-British novelist and photographer (1919 - 1999), best known for writings on morality and good and evil. , who thought the key to a good society was teaching people to see others on their own terms.

We have a tendency, she argued, to treat other people as furniture in a universe centred around ourselves. Our aim in engaging with them is to satisfy our egos. A truly moral approach, in contrast, recognises them as our equals, and encourages us to serve others, not just ourselves.

This approach to morality is called "virtue ethics". Some think by setting up courses in schools and universities dedicated to teaching it, we can make ourselves better people, and end the wave of anger and abuse.

However, others say focusing on moral education as a solution to our woes would itself be a moral failing. Rather than following Murdoch's advice to step out of ourselves and see others as full human beings, it would mean focusing even more on ourselves, obsessing over our own moral character.

Teaching people academic morality, they say, is no substitute for setting up the kind of society that incentivises a moral outlook towards others. Talk of individual morality is nothing but navel-gazing.

Do we need better moral education?

Yes: Society is fraying because people have forgotten how to behave towards one another. The only solution is to go back to basics and teach everyone how to be good.

No: Moral education does not solve the structural issues making us stressed and angry. People can only be good if their lives are good. That means tighter communities and less precarityThe state of being uncertain. Often used to talk about living an uncertain or precarious existence, due to not have a stable job or income. .

Or... Moral education probably would not make people nicer overnight. But it would be good for all of us to spend a bit more of our time thinking about what we could do to be better, more generous people.