Essays

essays

The Elizabethan era is laid to rest

The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was a chance for Britons to reflect upon their national identity and consider how their nation has transformed over the past seventy years. It als..

Adam Boulton September 19, 2022

essays

The cultural conversation of mankind

Isolationist thinking and exceptionalism is on the rise and our global culture is the poorer for it. Our civilisations thrive when in conversation with each other: ideas are exchan..

Christopher Coker September 15, 2022

essays

Four reasons to study Polybius — most practical of ancient historians

With something of a tedious regularity, furious debates flare up among political scientists over the value of Thucydides to their theories of international relations. If the Atheni..

Iskander Rehman September 9, 2022

essays

The problem of power in Russia

Russia has never quite reconciled its traditional culture of ‘joint responsibility' with the rule of law.

Geoffrey Hosking September 7, 2022

essays

Algorithms vs Humanity

What sort of humanist thinking should we be pursuing in the age of smart machines? Is humanism compatible with AI? Or do humans need to think of smart digital tech as a species thr..

Andrew Keen September 5, 2022

essays

Mikhail Gorbachev gave Russia a chance

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev had the singular misfortune of living long enough to watch some of his most important achievements reversed by his myopic successors. But he did accom..

Sergey Radchenko September 1, 2022

essays

The economy and the paradox of technology

Since the Industrial Revolution, technology has greatly enhanced humanity’s capacity to shape the world through manufacturing and finance. However, these technological developments..

Samuel Gregg August 30, 2022

essays

How the information age really began

While the foundations of computing may have been laid by the likes of Babbage and Lovelace, it was John von Neumann's report on the EDVAC system which transformed abstract musings ..

Ananyo Bhattacharya August 25, 2022

essays

Meteorites: our fascination with the ultimate antique

They are more than just reminders of the universe’s origins. Meteorites have been a commodity for investors, a demonstration of the cultural capital of museums, and prized items fo..

Maria Golia August 24, 2022