Chris Rackley (Letters, June 3) demonstrates good intentions but a lack of economic reality.

If the wealth of the celebrities he mentions, plus that of the world's millionaires, was donated to charity, the result would be chaos.

There would be disaster if the polar ice caps melted. In the same way, there would be global inflation on an unforeseen scale if millions of pounds of useless paper money flooded the economy unless matched by industrial output.

We exchanged the luxuries of peace for the necessities of war 70 years ago and, unless we forego the comforts of easy living to provide the essentials for the Third World, our financial contributions will be of little worth.

Sadly, this wouldn't be welcome to the majority in the West.

-Maurice Packham, Horsham