Great Uncle Fred? At school we have covered Fascism and Thatcherism and Existentialism. Soon we are going to do Feudalism and then Communism. Which "`ism" has been the most influential over people`s lives? (Mike, Summer 2008)

By an "`ism" I suppose you mean a distinctive system of beliefs or doctrine or theory that guides some sort of social movement. Well, people`s lives are influenced by an "`ism" in different ways and at different levels of intensity. Feudalism (which people now say was more complicated than first thought) was a system which completely dominated your life - you were absolutely defined by your role in the system. Fascism and Communism also: "`isms" which totally dominated the lives of those who had to live under them, and ended millions and millions of lives too. It is quite an influential "`ism" that causes a single death, let alone millions. Cubism never killed a soul. But while Fascism and Communism were hugely and horribly influential, their influence was confined within borders; of course they influenced, for example, the British a great deal but that was incidental, as it were. No, I think you would have to say that the most influential "`ism" in the history of the World, because its reach extends to everyone on the planet except for a few undiscovered Stone Age tribes, and because we are now so numerous (on July 8th 2008, the population of the World was thought to be 6,708,700,100; in 1800 it was 978 million; in 1900 1.65 billion; in 1950 it was 2.52 billion and in 1975 4.07 billion), yes, because there are now so many of us, I think Capitalism has to get the prize. We cannot help being influenced by it, none of us. It is a reasonably benign "`ism", unless you find yourself at the sharp end of its rapacious ruthlessness, but its universal influence cannot be denied or ignored. Yes, the most influential "`ism", I think, although I would like to mention how very very influential feminism has been, mostly for the good. Not much talked about, feminism, for some reason, but influential? Very. But capitalism, for me, wins.

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