(1) A Vandalism Index simply the value of goods destroyed in every ten square miles;
(2) An Injustice Index which could be a cross put on the ballot paper at each election, indicating that the voter has an unresolved grievance of a specified type;
(3) A Stress Index - being the weight of stress/anxiety drugs prescribed each year;
(4) An Alcohol Index a look at how much booze individuals are taking and what they do on the way home. Quite a small sample would do;
(5) A Job Satisfaction Index which could be an entry on the tax form to record: to what extent are you happy in your work, it is too stressful, it it boring, would you prefer a different job?
Taken together, these Indexes might make a modest Quality of Life Index. For instance, for the age group 12 to 25, absence of vandalism is probably the best indicator of personal well-being. If I had to choose a single parameter, I would choose the feeling of irremediable injustice, as I suspect the score would horrify any lawyer who regards civil law as in any way adequate.
Fred Allen, 13 Shelly Row, Cambridge CB3 OBP.