Writer and philosopher

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Politics

The Bottomless Hypocrisy of the Left

Whenever The Guardian mentions Tommy Robinson in an article, it invariably appends in parenthesis, “(real name, Nigel Yaxley-Waxley)” or whatever it is. It does this …

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Politics

Recycled Leadership

One bizarre aspect of Labour’s self-destructive wallow in leadership squabbles is how venerable is the cast of characters. If we go back 20 years or …

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Politics

The New Electoral Equilibrium

Following Thursday’s local elections, according to that scoundrel Curtice (who loves to ruin election night by telling us the result, redundantly, three nanoseconds after polls …

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AI

AI: Space Race or Arms Race?

In her Regius Lecture at the University of Southampton, Verity Harding, author of AI Needs You, set up two competing views of the geopolitics of …

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Literature, Politics

The Witches’ Sabbath Today

While reading Jan Philipp Reemtsma’s interesting book Trust and Violence, published in English translation by Princeton University Press in 2012, I came across his description …

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Politics

Who Are the Extremists?

The American Democratic Party is trying to get its act together ready for the mid-terms next year. The headwinds against it are pretty powerful, and …

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Politics

Gaza: Genocide or Not?

There is debate about whether the Israeli Defence Forces’ pounding of Gaza should be counted as a genocide or not. A lot hangs on it, …

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Politics, Trust

How Brexit Was Scuppered By a Lack of Trust

In an extract from my forthcoming book Blockchain Politics, I describe how social and political trust are essential for cross-party, multi-electoral projects which chart a nation’s …

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Computing/Internet, Politics, Trust

Trustworthy Supply of Information

In an extract from my forthcoming book Blockchain Politics, I describe the characteristics of a trustworthy supplier of information or news. These characteristics don’t seem …

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Politics, Uncategorized

The MAGA Philosophy in 5 Minutes

For anyone confused by the MAGA philosophy, its foundations were neatly encapsulated over 50 years ago in 5 minutes, 7 seconds of music by the …

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Politics, Trust

Norms, the Elites and the Defence of the Realm

In my forthcoming book Blockchain Politics, I try to debunk the excessive pessimism of a recent book review by The Economist’s Free Exchange columnist. The …

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Politics

Why Am I Reminded of the Hitler-Stalin Pact?

I’m not sure any country, however troubled, has fallen from democracy to gangster state in such a short period of time. It’s too early to …

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