There is something deeply disturbing about Peter Dutton. It’s not his looks, though they don’t help. There is something that comes across to me as being deeply inhuman. He sounds as if he doesn’t care about mankind – or at least certain parts of mankind – and that is reflected clearly in his politics. A ...
In February 2017, Scott Morrison, the then Treasurer and later Prime Minister, took a piece of coal into the Australian Parliament. “This is coal. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be scared. It’s coal.” His demonstration highlighted the Liberal Party’s unwavering support for fossil fuels. Now, Peter Dutton, Morrison’s successor, has pivoted to nuclear power in Australia, ...
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 ...
Peter Wheeler, a political activist for the Labour Party in the UK, reflects on the pivotal 2024 British General Election, which marked a significant shift in the country’s political landscape. He has been a local government councillor as well as having held senior posts within the Labour Party. He campaigned tirelessly in the recent election. ...
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 ...
