Showing 1 - 6 of 6
Is populism a disease? Or a cure?
News, John Lloyd, Published on 29/10/2018
» Populist nationalism is here to stay. Many still believe it a phase which, like surliness in adolescence, will pass and be succeeded by orderly, thoughtful maturity. But they will find that the political world, already changed, will disappoint them. Liberalism, however defined, is not politics' default position: mainstream politicians are in a fight ring facing young contenders buoyed by a string of victories.
Beware the online culture warriors
News, John Lloyd, Published on 22/10/2018
» The news media in the Western world remains dominated by newspapers, magazines and broadcasters still known as the mainstream. The most vivid proof of their continued reign over public opinion is in the figure of US President Donald Trump, whose repeated attacks on "failing" publications like The New York Times and the Washington Post as "enemies of the people" is a backhanded tribute to their continued power.
Sometimes 'safe spaces' harbour hidden dangers
News, John Lloyd, Published on 08/10/2018
» Few great social changes are wholly positive. "Safe spaces", for example. Most popular in universities, they're meant to provide a feeling of security for those who feel vulnerable, a place where students can avoid issues that might cause them distress.
Anti-Trump op-ed boosts democracy
News, John Lloyd, Published on 10/09/2018
» The good news was well disguised in the anonymous cry of warning against the "amorality" of Donald Trump. A senior administration official, writing as an unnamed columnist in The New York Times, described how he and like-minded colleagues "are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of (the US president's) agenda and his worst inclinations." The message is that democratic habits -- and, crucially, civic decency and responsibility -- can, in step with free journalism, win out over degraded administrations.
In illiberal societies, a wider #MeToo movement
News, John Lloyd, Published on 13/02/2018
» In China, women calling themselves the "silence breakers" have demanded investigations into allegations of sexual harassment. In doing so, they pit themselves against a macho culture, a Communist Party deeply allergic to independent citizens' initiatives, and an exaggerated and assiduously cultivated respect for hierarchies, themselves male-dominated.
Once centres of hope, political parties are dying
News, John Lloyd, Published on 03/01/2018
» There's little difficulty in showing that some of the most venerable political parties of the democratic world may be facing terminal crises. The difficulty is in determining if government by a party or parties -- the sustaining base of administrations the democratic world over -- can last.