Fires, arson, and the wickedness—and shallowness—of man are covered by the good doctor in his recent Quadrant piece.

Why is no mention made of it? I think it is for two related reasons. The first is that arson in such circumstances confronts us with the wickedness of man, the frivolous wickedness if I may so put it. The second is that, if arson played a part, ordinary people—ordinary in the sense of not being powerful or in authority—have contributed to the situation, thus complicating the Manichean account in which the forces of good are set against the forces of evil.