on the money

Fintan O'Toole says Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara is the best and funniest attack on our tendency to dream of a time when we had less money and more culture:

'Money, Shaw argues in Major Barbara, is civilisation. "It represents health, strength, honour, generosity and beauty as conspicuously and undeniably as the want of it represents illness, weakness, disgrace, meanness and ugliness." People who know this understand the world better than those who don't, even if they prefer bling and Big Brother to books and theatre.'

Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw (above) opens at the NT on Feb 26.