In Politics, Who Gets to Define Progress?
It had been some months since the prophet Zarathustra had last visited the village. When he arrived in the central square he was surprised to…
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Report from Our Correspondent in Vienna
It was intriguing, albeit somewhat dispiriting to watch history replay itself on my recent visit to Vienna, culminating in the debacle of May 18th.* I…
Alice in the Departure Lounge
Alice was not happy. A holiday at the Hotel Humpty Dumpty had seemed like a fine idea when she had read the reviews in the…
Free Speech: At What Cost?
One morning the prophet Zarathustra went into the village square to address the people. Looking around he was happy to see a good number had…
Alice Checks out of Hotel Humpty Dumpty (Or Does She?)
“I’d like to check out today,” announced Alice to the hotel receptionist who greeted her with a fixed smile. “I trust everything was to your…
Humpty Dumpty Explains Br-eggs-it
“I’m sure that is Humpty Dumpty sitting atop that wall,” Alice thought to herself, espying him from a distance. As she approached she remarked out…
Is It True that There Is No Such Thing as Truth?
After a day or two among the people of one village he visited, the prophet Zarathustra began to see that they were a tight-knit community…
Do appearances trump substance?
One morning Zarathustra was after his usual fashion preaching in the village square when he was disturbed by a voice from a heckler from the…
In a Global Village, Who Is My Neighbour?
One day an expert in critical theory and postmodern thought stood up to test Zarathustra’s credentials. “Teacher,” he asked, “how should I best demonstrate my…
Is Cultural Appropriation Appropriate Behaviour?
Zarathustra resolved to choose twelve disciples that he might send them forth to preach in his name. But lo, he saw that the village was made up of simple working-class people who did not have the benefit like himself of a degree in postmodern studies with a major in critical theory. So he chose from among them a multiracial group, which is to say in its politically correct definition a selection excluding any persons who could be construed as racially white, because he was aware from sociological research recently reported by Zoe Williams in The Guardian that there is no such thing as white working class, except insofar as it is characterised by a racist attitude.