This is the time to improve yourself. New millennium, new you is the mantra of the moment. In keeping with this, the liberally-minded newspaper I read on a Saturday ran a list of 100 ways to make the world a better place.

There were some good suggestions, alongside battier entreaties. The interesting tips included, 'pay compliments', 'relax', 'laugh at yourself', 'don't backstab', 'watch A Wonderful Life. As many times as possible', and 'walk'.

Much good sense there. Dropping a brick in your toilet's cistern, buying ethical investments, reading the international pages of your newspaper and taking a plant to work might be less enticing advice. But, hey, this was The Guardian. As for 'risk ridicule', well I've been doing that for years writing this column.

Such a tick-list of good wishes was included as part of a wider report on whether or not we are now living in different, kinder times.

The argument, explored at the length only a weekend magazine allows, can be reduced to this: the me-me-me, gimme-gimme-gimme Eighties is about to give way to the us-us-us generation.

The thought that we might be entering nicer days is certainly encouraging. While lacking the space or the time to expound on the subject at the length allowed to Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian, I was inspired by his thesis.

The cash-and-grab Eighties, as epitomised by the selfish horrors of Thatcherism, was in spirit a miserable time, when greed was the creed and looking after yourself was the only requirement.

The Nineties saw much of the same, though with a gradual diminishment in the general nastiness. Now that we are in the 'Noughties', there are signs that we are becoming more inclusive, generous and willing to accept each other. We are now team players, so the argument goes, and seeking fulfilment beyond the material. The idea that there is more to life than what you can earn and amass, that the car you drive or the house you own is not really that important, is certainly appealing.

Where this attractive argument stumbles is that in many ways the spirit of the Eighties lives on. Flash City types still throb and buzz with money. Thatcher might be long gone but her poison courses round our veins. Perhaps that is to put it a little strongly, but that woman always did bring out the worst in me.

Behind all this lies human nature - and how we interpret what we are. The nastier side of our nature found a perfect niche in Thatcherism. And now the nicer side is seeking expression in the way we live today.

Where this all becomes tricky is in deciding where human nature truly lies. I suspect that you pick as you wish, choosing the selfish streak if it suits or the core of decency if you prefer. Personally, I'm all for taking a walk on the nicer side.

One piece of advice contained in the list of 100 tips was 'get e-mail. Who'd have thought technology would bring us together?' My own address sits at the bottom of this column. All suggestions for making the world more cheerful will be gratefully received. Old technology paper mail is also welcome.

Words spoken on the radio can become garbled. Strange misunderstandings step into the gap between the broadcaster's mouth and the listener's ear. Such a mix-up can happen even when listening to an excellent broadcaster such as James Naughtie on the Today programme on Radio Four.

This week, Naughtie spoke a little too quickly for these ears when introducing an item. For a moment I could have sworn he was talking about the "kung-fu crisis". This brought a number of puzzling images into my mind until my brain caught up and I realised he had referred to the "current flu crisis". Which was a little different.

13/01//00

If you have any comments you would like to make, contact Julian Cole directly at julian.cole@ycp.co.uk

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.