Martin Kettle is right that the idea of a moral economy, first developed by the historian EP Thompson in respect of 18th- and 19th-century England, remains powerful (Liverpool football fans have shown why we need a moral economy, 12 February). For Thompson it was about a fair price for bread and beer, but today it focuses on a wider range of issues such as large corporations paying taxes and those in vital jobs such as junior doctors getting fair treatment. It is of course about the exertion of mass moral pressure, but for Thompson it was not some kind of fluffy protest. If the moral pressure didn’t work 200 years ago, the crowd would move on to what he described as “collective bargaining by riot” to make sure their voices were heard.
Keith Flett
London
More of today’s letters on the NHS
• Misdiagnosis of what’s ailing the health service
• European law and the imposition of the new junior doctor contracts
• Modern society needs 24/7 health provision
• How I weep at this government’s cruelty and inhumanity
• This is preparation for full privatisation of the NHS
• Celebrate 5 July as NHS Day
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
• This column was amended on 16 February 2016. An earlier version of the photo caption said that the crowd was rioting against the price of food. It was a peaceful demonstration calling for the reform of parliamentary representation.
