This is not a party political site and not very partisan in any way. My emphasis has tended to be on the quality of debate and campaigning, and especially on the need to appreciate represtentative democracy (government through elected representatives whose own views matter), and to be sceptical of the claims of vox pop, "the people", social media, Crowd Wisdom, and "direct action".
There are obvious reasons not to be on the right of the cultural and political debate. You won't be liked, for start, and people will think you are selfish or even fascist. Here are some reasons in favour. Read more...
Intellectual and practical life is a series of paradoxes and conundrums. I would never follow a purist, though purism can be wonderfully clarifying. Read more...
We should be tougher in the way we think about protest. That was the burden of my written evidence to a Parliamentary committee on Human Rights. Sometimes we seem to get heavy about very little. But more often we think disruptive or vicious protest is really sort of OK. It isn't. Read more...
Mr Obama has created or been created by a moment in history.
It is a mixed blessing, this triumph. Whilst it is good that the US has overcome years of racism to produce a black president, it is less obviously good that a man has been elected president because he is black. No way out of that conundrum, probably, but it sours things a little. Read more...