Physically it is much less gruelling to be down and out now than it was fifty years ago. But psychologically is ‘the mob’ any better off? Orwell’s fellow-tramps existed within an isolated subculture and were only vaguely aware of how the more fortunate lived. Now television makes the unemployed tormentingly aware of the unattainable–by them–affluence that is within reach of the majority of their compatriots.
