Ian Hislop referred to the 'illth' during his programme on banking last night.
It's a great word.
According to Websters it means:
: the condition of being economically unprosperous or miserable <the glaring disparity between the state's natural wealth and its human illth – Christian Century>
or: something that produces or is symptomatic of illth <much of the goods on our shelves is wealth rather than illth –Nation>
John Ruskin first used it, as the opposite for wealth. But he didn't mean poverty: he meant the materialism that consumes the owner: the ill being of material accumulation.
It works.
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It’s on iPlayer BBC2 “When Banks Were Good”
And good solid broadcasting from Mr. I. Hislop
I’m afraid I, with the utmost civility, disagree with Ruskin’s illth. Donald Winch has written a nice essay on Ruskin’s economics and it ends up being that sort of bespoke socialism William Morris is best known for: a preference for the primitive which will always end up being very expensive, and as Ruskin drew his ideas from Thomas Carlyle who in turn took them from German Idealism they are not for me. Pre-industrial nostagia is something that many socialists and Tories share, hence that silly thing that is Green Belt.
I agree….
I’m not saying I buy all Ruskin says …. by a long way
But it doesn’t mean it’s not a useful word….