Myths of power: merchant, soldier, sage…?
David Priestland has written a provocative book, Merchant, soldier, sage: a new history of power. His…
Six asides about Vaclav Havel
I. Culture forms chaotically from spirit. Havel begins his essay, or talk, “Six asides about Culture”…
Political emotions
I am giving a paper at the end of this week at a seminar run by…
“Citizenship is a spiritual experience”
The most insightful and curious article I have read in the weekend papers is by Paul…
Donald Trump and America’s wounded pride
Today I watched live the speech made by Donald Trump to accept the Republican nomination for…
A solution to political decay: the ordinary virtues of governing well
Francis Fukuyama has recently argued that Western democratic states, especially America, are suffering political decay. The…
A song of sorries
The Parliament of Victoria recently voted an apology for laws that criminalised homosexuality. It followed a…
Behavioural Anecdotes Teams
One of the more puzzling cases of British export success stories is the spread of successive…
A new dark age
It is a dark age when learning is despised; when violence prowls our streets; when the…
Islam and false lessons from history.
Tony Abbott has provoked outrage in some circles, and proud banner raising in others, by proposing…