Published on
6 April 2021
Western liberalism prides itself on having achieved very largely a ‘meritocracy’. Like – in a different way – the Greek conception of an aristocracy, a meritocracy allows for rule by the best and brightest. Today’s meritocracy came in partly in rejection of the corruption of Europe’s old aristocratic ruling élite seen operating in the ancien […]
Published on
25 November 2020
Posted in Christianity, Liberalism, Religion, Social Commentary, United States of America
Attacks on churches by Islamists in Europe are now commonplace. In 2018 there were 877 acts that damaged church property in France. There are no official statistics for 2019 church burnings, but there were 1,063 anti-Christian attacks. More alarming still are the attacks that have occurred during the course of the riots that have recently […]
Published on
11 April 2020
Posted in Big Society, British Politics, Europe, Liberalism, Marriage & Family, Social Commentary
Europe’s ageing population is an inconvenient truth for those who advocate social liberalism. Indeed, the liberalist path that the EU has trodden for many years now has led it to the brink of societal catastrophe. With a current fertility rate of 1.6 (average) in the EU27, dark clouds hover ominously over the economic future of […]
Published on
28 February 2019
Posted in Christianity, Church of England, Conscience, Freedom, Liberalism, Liberty, Morality in Public, Uncategorized
In the coming year Pope Francis seems now likely to canonise the English Cardinal, John Henry Newman, completing a first step taken by Pope Benedict XVI who beatified him (declared him ‘Blessed’) in 2010. The Pope Emeritus has often referred to Newman in the same vein as his fellow-countryman St. Thomas More as figures who, […]
Published on
17 October 2018
Posted in Culture, Liberalism, United States of America
The confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court seems to highlight the intense politicisation of every facet of American public and institutional life. The nation remains fiercely divided along strict party lines, with rare exceptions, over the nomination of a formerly well-regarded circuit judge. A UK perspective may provide some worthwhile insight. Here […]
Published on
21 March 2018
Posted in Equality, Liberalism
A recent television interview between the clinical psychologist Jordan B Peterson and the Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman has gone viral and clocked up 8.4 million views to date on YouTube. The interview focussed on Peterson’s established critiques of ‘radical feminist’ gender politics. Many words have been spilled criticising Newman’s ‘umbrage-stoking’ tactics and praising […]