Arthur Miller's shattering play All My Sons is currently playing to packed audiences in London's West End. The story concerns a businessman, Joe Keller, who built a successful manufacturing company during the second world war, selling engine parts to the US Air Force, but who has kept a terrible secret hidden ever since.
As the drama unfolds family tensions explode, and ... well, if you have never seen the play, get hold of a copy of the text or, better still, buy a ticket for the current superb production.
Keller is a deeply flawed man. He tries not to think about the wider responsibilities he faces in the world beyond his factory gates. But in seeking to justify his actions during war time, he does, perhaps unwittingly, hit upon a reasonable and rather important argument. You have to understand the kind of pressure he was under, he says. You have to “see it human”.