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 is often apparent right-wing policies that are described as fascist, in fact, fascism shares its ideological roots with progressive politics.
Indeed, to understand fascism, we [...]
Italy: the next Eurozone crisis looms
In June, when Italy’s populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the Northern League agreed to form the republic’s 61st post-WWII government, a conflict with the European Union [...]
Change we don’t believe in
Change. It’s a political buzzword. Even though there is broad consensus in western countries that the modern, democratic welfare state is the optimal way to organise [...]
Politics is wrecking civil society
Representative democracy in one form or another has been the norm in Western societies since the post-industrial revolution years. The idea of one man, one vote is widely [...]
A guide to hate crime
Hate crime has its own brand-new website courtesy of Her Majesty’s Government. On www.hatecrime.campaign.gov.uk we are told how the government has designated some cases of [...]
Trump and Brexit: extreme or not?
One of the curious effects of the extreme polarisation of politics in the post-Trump and Brexit era is that people do not only disagree with current policy but extrapolate [...]
The rich: who they are and why we need them
What does it mean to be rich? Who are the rich? And how rich are they? Do they make a lot of money or do they have a lot of money? Dividing the population up in income [...]
The War on Drugs: senseless, inhumane and failed
Drug use is a victimless crime. But the fact that we express our own preferences when we use drugs and don’t hurt anyone else in the process has not prevented the state from [...]
When the left thinks racism is OK
Don Lemon couldn’t contain his delight when a commentator on CNN said that Kanye West is ‘what happens when negros don’t read’. West supports Trump and so is deemed [...]
How to answer the critics of capitalism – Part 2: Are consumers being exploited?
In the first post on this subject, published last week, we took on the classic Marxian argument that capitalism exploits workers by paying them a subsistence wage, allowing [...]
What Brexit says about democracy
As the day where Britain is due to leave the EU draws ever closer, the debate about how we got here intensifies. Breaking away from the EU is certainly a monumental event [...]