What is a nation?
In the modern political tradition, patriotism has always been revered. Not only is pride in and devotion to country seen as a positive, but its absence is also often taken as a sign of moral deficiency. Nationalism, on the other hand, is more suspect. The nationalist identifies with the nation and nationalism can manifest as a political ideology, as it did [...]
Why a tolerant society is not a free society
Individual freedom is the libertarian ideal, the abstract value which guides moral action. As a political idea, libertarianism emerged in the latter part of the 19th century [...]
Tolerance, traditionalism and Trump
Donald Trump is the 47th President of the Unites States of America. In a vote that was less about left vs right than about establishment vs anti-elitism, Trump won with a [...]
Solving immigration is a question of economics
Across Europe and the USA, immigration is the hottest of political topics. How many immigrants is too many? Who should be allowed in and who should be turned away? How far [...]
Is the left too emotional? No, they are too rational!
A commonly heard criticism of leftists is that they are prone to be driven by emotion rather than reasoned arguments. The easy solution of taking from the rich and giving to [...]
What is fascism?
The word “fascism” is often used – and mis-used – to describe politicians and policies which are perceived to be somehow aligned with totalitarian ideas. But while it [...]
Did central banks create inflation?
Inflation, said the Nobel price winning economist Milton Friedman, is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. Put simply, what he meant is that the price level is a [...]
The collapse of SVB and the problem with contemporary capitalism
When the Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on March 10 2023, it was not a household name. The bank, largely focussed on venture capital firms and tech startups, was however the [...]
Mao and the Cultural Revolution
Few people in history have been as influential as Karl Marx. His ideas would shape a century, but the man himself would not live to see it, because it was only a few decades [...]
Is there a “social contract”?
We often hear the argument that a “social contract” obliges us to behave in a particular way, because we are bound in a mutually dependent relationship with society and [...]
Trapped in a disaster of our own making
The Western world is trapped. A perfectly foreseeable disaster is unfolding as years of irresponsible and unsustainable policies catch up with our institutions of [...]