Analysis from the Office for National Statistics tells us that income is far less significant for life satisfaction than things like marital status, having children and a job. Far from being unencumbered, young, free and single, it is in fact the binding of ourselves to others through covenants, contracts and caring responsibilities that provides us with an empowered sense of self. This is hardly surprising. Indeed perhaps the best evidence of the importance of community to our lives is to be found in how our lives are summarised on our gravestones: ‘Mother of four’ or ‘60 years married’ say our tombstones, rarely ‘property tycoon’ or ‘owner of Mazda MX-5 generation four’.