Published on
16 December 2011
In a prior blog-post headed, Property Rights: Do They Also Include Responsibilities?, it was argued that ownership of a property not only grants rights, such as that of determining who should or should not reside in or on it, but also responsibilities. The outstanding responsibility is that towards the community or society in which the […]
Published on
7 December 2011
Posted in Ethics in Business, Human Rights, Social Commentary, World Affairs
Both the newspapers and the televised media constantly remind us of our current economic difficulties. The revenues and profit-margins of firms large and small are shrinking. Many shops and factories are reducing workforces, and some are closing-down altogether with larger-scale job losses. It is therefore refreshing to read that workers at the Caparo Merchant Bar […]
Published on
30 November 2011
Posted in Built Environment, Ethics in Business, Human Life, Social Commentary
Across from where the writer is sitting there is a rather forlorn and neglected house of considerable size. In its heyday it must have been the home of a prosperous upper-middle-class family. For a number of years now it has been allowed to crumble and deteriorate. It has of late hosted a seemingly variable number […]
Published on
25 November 2011
Posted in Culture, Ethics in the Media, Moral Philosophy, Social Commentary, Virtue
From a Guest Blogger: Margaret Thatcher once told the American Bar Association not to give terrorists the ‘oxygen of publicity’. Should we, perhaps, follow her advice and refrain from commenting on Benetton’s latest PR stunt turned advertising campaign? If we ignore it, will it not go away? There is good reason to think otherwise, for […]
Published on
18 November 2011
Posted in British Politics, Europe, Marriage & Family, Public Policy, Social Commentary
Last week Channel Four television programmed a documentary entitled Go Greek For A Week. Three distinct individuals were shown living as their counterparts in Greece had been doing according to employment and circumstance. The programme focused on the financial generosity of the Greek State, and also on the ease with which taxation might be evaded. […]
Published on
21 October 2011
Posted in British Politics, Human Life, Public Policy, Social Commentary
The Intergenerational Foundation, a Think-tank that ‘promote(s) fairness between generations’, has just launched a press release headed 25 Million Unoccupied Bedrooms. It claims that ‘each generation should pay its own way’, and that ‘British policy-makers have given undue advantages to the older generation at the expense of younger and future generations’. The press release promotes […]
Published on
14 October 2011
From a Guest Blogger: The garden is mourning, the rain sinks coolly into the flowers. Summer shudders as it meets its end. Herman Hesse Many have mourned the passing of Steve Jobs, in testament to a legacy of ingenuity rarely equalled in recent years. Even those with only half an eye on the media and […]
Published on
12 October 2011
Posted in British Politics, Public Policy, Social Commentary
Last week saw the end of the Conservative Party Conference, the last of the three major party conferences. The usual practice at such events is that leaders seek to inspire party activists and to unveil strategies for electoral success. Such strategies can often be captured by a catchy phrase or term. One such is the […]