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Letter: Trying to measure the influence of the individual (1)

Published 11 February 2026

From John Spiers, Burnside, South Australia

I’m very disappointed in the conclusions drawn by Nick Chater and George Loewenstein in their article “Changing direction”. Granted there are many areas where individual actions are inadequate to solve major problems and government actions, such as laws and taxes, are required to force corporations to make the necessary changes (24 January, p 19).

However, we live in a democracy, and governments require public pressure to pass laws. The public, in turn, become energised when they are personally involved in actions promoting the desired change. Not supporting individual efforts is a short-sighted strategy that may well dampen the concerns and awareness of the public when their people power is most needed.

Issue no. 3582 published 14 February 2026

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