Ideas
Features, Ideas, Politics - Wednesday, August 11, 2010 11:02 - 3 Comments
Think Big! In defence of ideology
The protracted aftermath of the worst world recession in living memory has seen not a fundamental questioning of the basic ideological premises of liberal capitalism, but a call for technocratic, ideologically "neutral" solutions instead. Is this another failure of the left to seize the moment and present a credible alternative? Alex Andrews bemoans the growing reticence towards big ideologically-driven programmes and says thinking big is the only thinking worth doing.
Columns, Ideas, In Theory - Friday, August 6, 2010 15:53 - 9 Comments
In Theory Anarchism, war and the state
Of the many movements and "isms" that have emerged in the past two centuries, none have had the run of stigma, mischaracterisation and sheer venom thrown at it as has the idea of Anarchism. Some use the term as shorthand for political violence, others for nihilistic rejection of societal coherence. Even those who admire its general principles often find themselves in conflict over how those principles are to manifest themselves in the world of reality. In a brilliant and thorough tour d'horizon, Ceasefire columnist Andrew Robinson looks at the development of the Anarchist response to war and the state. He uncovers some striking affinities as well as the nuances in difference within this widely variant (and much maligned) field of thought and offers a neat encapsulation of the major strands involved
Columns, Devil's Advocate, Ideas, Politics - Thursday, August 5, 2010 14:02 - 9 Comments
Devil’s Advocate: Is Democracy overrated?
Everyone knows -or at least pays lip-service to- Democracy as an exalted ideal. Is everyone wrong? Is this a concept we have been too lazy, or too blind, to fully examine? what is so special about a system that is aimed at creating a good society yet rarely delivers on that promise? In a controversial piece, the first of his 'Devil's Advocate' columns, Omer Ali examines the impact of democracy as well as its theoretical underpinnings. In the process, he draws on examples from politics and economics and takes aim at a few sacred truths.
Ideas, Science - Thursday, March 18, 2010 4:28 - 4 Comments
Open Source: the future of science?
By Sebastian Meznaric The recent scientific crisis around climate research data leaks has greatly damaged the credibility and respect usually accorded the scientific community. The collected global temperature data was the subject of statistical analysis where the scientists in question used a “trick” to conceal certain decreases in the temperatures measured. The “trick” apparently went […]
Ideas - Friday, January 9, 2009 5:07 - 1 Comment
Radicalism for beginners
The task of the radical is to take reason to unreasonable lengths. Dominic Fox explains.
Ideas - Friday, January 9, 2009 4:22 - 1 Comment
Should we regulate political research?
Dealing with political research material can get you into a lot of trouble these days. How can access properly be regulated? Murray Goulden has an ingenious solution.Ideas - Monday, July 21, 2008 17:13 - 4 Comments
What is imperialism?
We’ve all heard the word, but what does it mean? Here, Dr. Andrew Robinson looks at the economic and social history of imperialism, examining the work of key thinkers, and asks whether imperialism is still around us.
Ideas - Saturday, April 26, 2008 0:02 - 13 Comments
Q&A: Anarchism
Anarchism is an oft-misunderstood political ideology - it’s not mainstream, it doesn’t seem to have a set of defined principles and to many, the word means ‘chaos’.
