Reflections on 2018 – 1. self-portrait at 55
The year is drawing to a close, so time to begin reflecting on what the year’s…
What I am reading… on governing and imagination
amzn.asia/0CNwQ94 from John Dunn, Breaking Democracy’s Spell
The tragedy of the modern university
Jordan Peterson has proposed the creation of an alternative to the modern university that offers free…
Bureaucratic utopianism
Bureaucracy is not meant to be Utopian. After all, is not bureaucracy the home of the…
Cultural fragmentation and the collapse of authority in Western democracies
During the week I was discussing with a young colleague at work the preparation of a…
More reflections on 2017: The end of history revisited
In 2017 Francis Fukuyama published two podcasts providing a retrospective account of his essay, “The End…
More reflections on 2017: persistence, terror and Das Schloss
Persistence Twelve months ago I was approaching Christmas and the end of a liberating period of…
On revenge
“All visible objects, man, are but as pasteboard masks. But in each event – in the…
On humility
For many years I have believed that Carl Jung once said or wrote that “you must…
Why is alcohol policy difficult?
About 10 years ago I took a job running an alcohol and drug policy unit in…