The Just Society: Equality or Freedom?
In A Theory of Justice John Rawls conducted a famous thought experiment. He asked, if we were to imagine, behind a ‘veil of ignorance’, being…
Politics
Respect, rights and freedoms in an era of identity activism
The British actor Ben Kingsley, probably most famous for his eponymous role in the film Ghandi, has, since being knighted in the 2001 honours list,…
The Unintended Consequences of Law
It is a fact little known that the origins of the title of John Steinbeck’s famous novel “Of Mice and Men” was an ode “To…
The coming struggle: individualism versus the bureaucratic state
Introduction Modernity has been characterised not only by the great benefits brought by the increase in scientific knowledge and the technologies that have flowed…
Who Will Mind the Minders?
We often, particularly around this time each year, pride ourselves here in the UK on our having given birth to modern democracy in the context…
National sovereignty considered as a rule-based game
The Cambridge dictionary defines sovereignty as “The power of a country to govern itself”. As opposed to what? the power of a country not…
Legality and Morality: Can Man Serve Two Masters?
It is often suggested that obedience to the law is a virtue and by implication that respect for the law is a requirement of morality….
Jazz Hands Mired in Controversy
Reports are surfacing of a new controversy over the banning of applause at NUS conferences produced by the agency of human hands. The ban was…
The Korean Dilemma
Never formally concluded, the wound of the Korean war has been festering for over 60 years; but quietly sidelined by matters considered more geopolitically important,…
Is It Inhumane to Oppose Freedom of Movement?
There are many moral issues relating to the plight of refugees and migrants in our world today we could usefully give attention to. But there is no compulsion to support or advocate freedom of movement as part of a moral response. Ultimately the degree to which freedom of movement is allowed between nations is a political decision with moral arguments capable of being made on both sides.