Front Row Will Self on The Quantity Theory of Morality
Mar 4, 2026
Will Self, novelist and cultural commentator, talks about his new satirical novel and how cancer shaped his recent work. Charlotte McReynolds, curator at National Museums NI, speaks from Belfast about rebuilding the Ulster Museum's textile collection and the Ashes to Fashion exhibition. They discuss satire, modern alienation, rapid writing, illness and creativity, and the rebirth of a lost fashion archive.
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Quantity Theory Explains Morality As A Finite Resource
- Will Self's Quantity Theory asserts there's a fixed supply of morality shared across groups and power blocks.
- He argues modern social change has punctured moral ecology so morality drains away instead of rippling across groups.
Barging Into A Dinner Party Reveals Satirical World
- Will Self recounts barging into Bettina's flat and finding Cathy McCluskey naked on a bed as an example scene from his novel.
- The episode illustrates the book's world of overlapping dinner parties, affairs, morphing characters and social satire.
Niceness Can Substitute For Morality In Middle England
- Self links British politeness and niceness to a moral substitute that becomes thin and cynical when political Overton windows shift.
- He warns social niceties can mask moral bankruptcy until broader political changes expose them.
