“The masters of the universe are not ok,” says James Marriott in The Times. Far from the “slick, cold-blooded übermenschen of popular myth”, top professionals are really “insecure overachievers” driven to succeed by “doubt, self-loathing and fear of failure”. Corporate bigwigs confess to “desolating anxieties” that can only be assuaged by the compulsive pursuit of validation at work. One former banker coolly notes that his profession is “well suited to someone who doesn’t have a good sense of self”. In Silicon Valley, doctors report an “epidemic of stress and anxiety” among top execs. Among the richest students in Seoul, “premature curvature of the spine” has doubled in a decade.

“There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” If Lenin actually uttered these words, says Richard Haass in Foreign Affairs, he should have added: there are decades when centuries happen. We’re living through one now. With Vladimir Putin willing to do anything to extend Russia’s sphere of influence and China bent on “regional and potentially global supremacy”, there’s been a “sharp decline” in the world order. This has made it impossible for the great powers to work together despite a host of new challenges (climate change, pandemics, nuclear proliferation), especially as the US – more bitterly divided that at any time since the 19th century – is less willing and able to lead “on the international stage”.

Wellness is at once “an idealised state of being” and “pure marketing gold”, says Meghan Cox Gurdon in The Wall Street Journal. In her book The Gospel of Wellness, Rina Raphael sets out to find what drives the $4.4trn industry. The ambiguity of the term means “virtually anything” can be attached to it, from turmeric tablets to detox drinks and mindfulness apps. These products may promise to maximise personal excellence, but most of them fail to deliver. “Natural” products are not necessarily safer (they may just rot faster), and no woman needs “gluten-free shampoo” unless she’s planning to drink the stuff. “We would be wise on occasion to consult our brains.”