Yuval Noah Harari’s delves into the dangers of AI but uniquely examines this issue through the lens of human societal development and the lessons we may or may not have learned. Yuval Noah Harari’s Nexus asks, “Why are we so good at accumulating more information and power, but far less successful at acquiring wisdom?” Beginning ...
Josephine Quinn (Bloomsbury) Challenging the Myth of Western Civilization Origins How the World Made the West is a revolutionary book that challenges the myth of Western Civilization Origins. Josephine Quinn argues that our understanding of history was shaped by modern interpretations, not ancient truths. What we see when we look back into the past is ...
Revisiting Orwell’s Life This is a long book, and D J Taylor, who wrote a George Orwell biography 20 years ago, believes there is significant value in revisiting the subject.. There is new biographical evidence available in terms of letters between Orwell and his friends and lovers. Sadly, Taylor identified only eleven people who knew ...
This article provides a detailed critique of Enlightenment ideals, exploring their long-term impact on modern society. I think that the ‘enlightenment’ will ultimately be the greatest European contribution to the world. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be criticized. It seems that that no reasonable person can be against the ideals of the Enlightenment. The ...
Danny Sriskandarajah is the head of the New Economics Foundation (NEF). This was an organisation set up forty years ago to fight neoliberalism. Since that time neoliberalism has come to dominate the economic policies across the globe. The result has been to concentrate wealth in the hands of the wealthy. The challenge the Foundation faces ...
In John Berger Ways of Seeing, he explores how images shape our perception, influence advertising, and affect our personal and political views. This seminal work provides a deep dive into the power of visual culture and its impact on society. The Power of Images One of the things which we really should spend more time ...
Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party in the UK, and the next Prime Minister, likes to boast on social media that he has changed the Labour Party. This is a change which has seen him take the Labour Party further to the right than even Tony Blair, who won an equally resounding victory ...
At the start of the week the far-right in France seemed set to win the first round of the election called by Emanuel Macron after he suffered a shattering defeat in elections for the European Parliament last month. Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) have become the largest party in the Dutch parliament. ...
“Let’s be realistic. Let’s do the impossible!” The legacy of Che Guevara, a revolutionary icon, continues to resonate today. There was a time not so long ago when almost every student bedroom had a picture of Che Guevara on the wall. In death, the legacy of Che Guevara became the quintessential cultural icon with his ...
This a book about South Africa. It follows through four decades of history as is the South Africa as seen from an Afrikaner family – albeit a dystopian Afrikaner family. Ma dies during the last days of apartheid, but before she does, she asks Pa to make a promise. The promise is that Salome, the ...
