The collapsing new buildings of government
“In truth, the problem of declining trust in political institutions, is better conceived as the collapse of authority 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…
Fragments on tradition
Today’s cultures are both disintegrating and proliferating. Any writer has to hand the near infinite profusion…
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…
Reflections on 2017: cultural decay and political institutions
In reviewing my notes for the year – diligently if effortlessly recorded in Evernote – I…
Reflections on 2017
The year is drawing to a close, and while it is yet weeks from New Year,…
Conrad’s darkness
“I have never been able to find in any man’s book or any man’s talk anything…
Red Nostalgia
During the week I attended a lecture at my old university on the meaning of the…
The return of sacred violence
“Central to both torture and terror is the political psychology of degradation” Paul Kahn, Sacred violence:…
The death of the soul
In The Australian this weekend Greg Sheridan, the conservative and perceptive foreign affairs journalist, comments on…