The Politics and Economics of Trust in a Time of Crisis

In the present crisis precipitated by the Covid 19 virus there is an elephant in the room. It is a type of Utilitarian argument that the political considerations of the strategy that should be enacted – irrespective of the scientific advice – should be driven by the interests of the greatest number. In its harshest… Continue reading The Politics and Economics of Trust in a Time of Crisis

Book Review: Yoram Hazony, The Virtue of Nationalism

New York, Basic Books, 2018; 285 pages, paper, US$30 The Virtue of Nationalism, by the Israeli theologian and political philosopher Yoram Hazony, is being hailed by some as an important statement of the underpinning political ideology in the age of Brexit, Trump, Modi, Xi, Abe, Erdogan, Putin and of independence proclamations around the world, from… Continue reading Book Review: Yoram Hazony, The Virtue of Nationalism

Beauty: more than the eye of the beholder (part 3)

In memory of Roger Scruton (1944-2020) Changes in the apperception of the beautiful across historical time and the very individuality of the experience of beauty, have led to a false doctrine of the relativity of beauty. In fact, the history of the development of knowledge supports an alternative view, that the variability across time and… Continue reading Beauty: more than the eye of the beholder (part 3)

In Politics, Who Gets to Define Progress?

Thus Spake Zarathustra https://www.deviantart.com/jacktrick/

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 find it deserted. Hailing a small boy who was passing by, he asked where the occupants were. “Don’t you know it is election time?” was the reply. The prophet was… Continue reading In Politics, Who Gets to Define Progress?

The Political Logic of the Excluded Middle

For several years the received opinion is that the middle ground of politics has been abandoned here in the UK, in America and in much of Europe. There is, indeed, a superficial plausibility to this assertion, evidenced by the intemperate language of much of political debate. However, I believe that the underlying reality is quite… Continue reading The Political Logic of the Excluded Middle

What actually is ‘Community’?

Almost no pundit, politician or purveyor of good causes can today make their case without extolling its benefits for ‘the community’ or miscellaneous ‘communities’. The importance of community has become a touchstone of contemporary thinking, on both the political left and the right. It might be thought that what socialists and conservatives mean by community… Continue reading What actually is ‘Community’?

Dilemmas regarding the justice of claims for national independence

As most of the world knows – although there are surely corners where the news has not permeated or imposed its importance on the local consciousness – the United Kingdom is undergoing a protracted political crisis in its attempt the leave the European Union. Views on the meaning of this differ, to put it mildly;… Continue reading Dilemmas regarding the justice of claims for national independence

Is Progressive Liberalism a New Religion?

Almost forty years ago I read Nikolai Berdyaev’s The Russian Revolution [1], in which he makes the case that Soviet Communism was essentially a religion in the mould of Christianity, with its concept of original sin (expropriation of labour), priestly class (the Communist Party), The Final Judgement (The Revolution), purification through penance (communal labour), holy… Continue reading Is Progressive Liberalism a New Religion?

An assessment of the status of climate change modelling as a scientific paradigm (part 2)

The latest news that the Antarctic has undergone rapid melting in the period 2014-2017 (Vaughan, 2019), undoing 35 years of gradual growth, one of the touchstones of climate change sceptics, effectively demolishes the argument that global warming is not real. Nevertheless, the pressure by activists for radical and immediate restructuring of the economy is potentially… Continue reading An assessment of the status of climate change modelling as a scientific paradigm (part 2)