There is a continuing debate back and forth across the Atlantic over whether the United States or Europe is wealthier. It is odd to watch, not because the arguments are unreasonable, but because it is a clear case of failing to see the wood for the trees. Both sides are exceptionally wealthy; yet the citizens of both entities appear to harbour deep discontent. They will not have children, drug use is escalating, and political and social discourse is marked by increasing violence and protest, to name but a few indicators. This is something noted by the chief economist of the Institute of International and European Affairs, Dan O’Brien, who suggested that the disconnect between financial wealth and people’s satisfaction is down to doomscrolling. I would argue that, in analysing the data in this way, O’Brien is inadvertently displaying one of the key characteristics of civilisational decline, as described by the 20th-century Catholic convert and journalist GK Chesterton.