Published on
12 December 2019
Posted in British Politics, Christianity, Culture, Liberty, Morality in Public, Virtue
Democracy is seen by most people, much of the time, as one of the brightest jewels in the crown of Western culture. Unlike the slavery-based ancient Athenian democracy it is the product of assertion of the freedom and dignity inherent in every human being, and as a result on 12 December every UK citizen over […]
Published on
6 December 2019
Posted in Abortion, British Politics, Christianity, Ethics, Human Life, Public Policy
With the General Election approaching on 12 December, Labour has released its manifesto. It includes policies such as nationalising broadband, increasing the health budget by 4.3% and legalising abortion up to birth. Abortion was legalised for Britain in 1967. It was formally legal only in a limited number of cases and up to 28 weeks […]
Published on
4 November 2019
Posted in Big Society, British Politics, Culture, Marriage & Family, Public Policy
‘All the Lonely People’, an article published last year in The Economist, highlighted the financial implications of loneliness. What was perhaps most striking about the article was its stressing of the prevalence of loneliness in the developed world. It points out that there is no shortage of initiatives addressing the problem, some of which go […]
Published on
17 April 2019
Last week, Sir Roger Scruton was sacked from his role as Chairman of the ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission’ following an interview that he gave to the New Statesman. Scruton’s appointment in November had caused considerable controversy, so perhaps his deposition from his unpaid position might be seen in retrospect as all but inevitable. Nevertheless, […]
Published on
10 December 2018
A current exhibition at Tate Britain brings together major works from across the career of Edward Burne-Jones. The exhibition includes stained glass, tapestries, sketches and some of his widely-admired paintings. Firmly in the tradition of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Burne-Jones sought inspiration from medieval and classical ideals and forms. In this project, Burne-Jones was committed to […]
Published on
12 November 2018
Posted in British Politics, Political Economy
Today’s age, it is often theorised, is undergoing continuous upheaval. In every sphere of life, we are told, life will dramatically change. In economic matters, the outbreak of global trade wars and the threat of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the workplace are seen as dangers to the world as we know it. Politically speaking, recent […]
Published on
8 May 2018
Posted in British Politics, Immigration
Jürgen Habermas draws a central distinction between our ‘lifeworld’ and ‘systems-world’. The lifeworld is said to be rooted in society’s collective subjective perception, its shared values and influences, as opposed to fully-rationalized systems which favour the quantifiable realm of ‘efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control’. Habermas proceeds to argue that the crisis of modernity is rooted […]
Published on
31 December 2017
Posted in British Politics, Liberty
Earlier this week the Higher Education Minister, Jo Johnson, ‘confirmed plans to allow the newly created Office for Students (OfS) to fine or suspend institutions that fail to protect freedom of speech on campuses’. This announcement came in response to concerns over University guest speakers being wrongly ‘no-platformed’ due to student protests and safe space […]