Helen Chandler-Wilde: Can UK Accept the Boring Politics We Need?

Last night I went to a talk about witch trials throughout European history (Halloween is on Friday, after all). I bring this up because of one point made by the speaker: the witch trials may have been a lurid and scandalous chapter of our history, but were ended by some incredibly unsensational means.

Among them were improvements in agronomy, which improved crop yields and therefore made people less hungry and suspicious – and even more thrillingly, the invention of insurance. If you are compensated after a flood or fire, you’re much less likely to look for a “witch” to blame.