No solution These changes can appear commonsensical. For more years than anybody remembers, people got by without 'mediation', preferring to talk to each other, or argue as the case demanded. In reality nobody has forgotten any such thing. What has happened is that there is an increasing climate of distrust between people that incipient 'third parties' can leech upon. The increased role of state agencies in interpersonal disputes is facilitated by a general sense of anxiety about our ability to get on with each other.
Individual relations are more fraught.
There are real pressures on families and neighbourhoods. The most straightforward pressure is the impact of economic insecurity. Love flies out of the window when poverty comes in the door. But equally important is the changing framework in which people have to deal with their domestic problems. In the past people's aspirations for a better life were projected beyond their four walls, through more collective, public outlets like trade unions and political parties.