Ancient and modern
How Socrates judged experts
The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, raises his growth forecasts and suddenly everyone believes the ‘expert’. So…
Donald Trump could be America’s Nero — if we’re lucky
A Washington Post interview with ‘senior officials’ in the Trump White House reveals that ‘Trump… feels demoralised that the public’s…
What Donald Trump doesn't get about rhetoric
In his inaugural speech last week, the new President Trump said, among much else, the ‘American carnage’ of poverty, ignorance…
A Roman emperor’s inauguration to rival Donald Trump’s
Given that Donald Trump is not the most popular president the USA has ever seen, even among his own party,…
Ancient Greeks wouldn’t recognise George Osborne’s idea of democracy
Ex-chancellor George Osborne is planning a book to be titled The Age of Unreason. He says that ‘it will be…
Post-truths with Ovid and Tacitus
We are told we live in a ‘post-truth’ world. This appears to mean that everyone believes everything they are told…
What on earth is a 'kudo'?
What is a ‘kudo’? According to the Taxpayers’ Alliance, it is a mark of honour, many of which should be…
Aristophanes had Donald Trump’s number
As self-important comics fantasise about unseating Donald Trump with their wit, they should remember the great Aristophanes. In 424 BC,…
How MPs can shut the people up for good
In the eyes of the bien-pensants, the election of Donald Trump and the vote on Brexit have brought democracy to…
What Thucydides would have thought of Donald Trump
‘America’s journey into the great unknown’, screamed a headline greeting Donald Trump’s election as next President of the United States.…
A warning for Nigel Farage from ancient Athens
Frenzied outrage from Leavers and comical paeans of praise from Remainers greeted the High Court’s decision to instruct government that Parliament…
Hippocrates would have hated doctors’ new approach
Doctors are being urged not to tell patients what is best for them but to lay out the options and…
The Jeremy Corbyn of ancient Athens
With the Labour party reduced to a cult in honour of the vain and incompetent Jeremy Corbyn, the Tory party…
How Boris Johnson is like Socrates
In writing an article that argued both for and against the European Union, Boris Johnson was following a solidly classical…
If you’re a Christian, Theresa May, you’re a citizen of the world
‘If you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere,’ proclaimed Theresa May in a speech…
Advice for Jeremy Corbyn from the emperor Augustus
Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected leader of the Labour party not by MPs but by his teenage ‘fans’ in Momentum.…
The Romans got it right on immigration
As the UK prepares for Brexit into the big wide world outside, it has been pointed out that the Foreign…
Who'd join a club that punishes you for leaving?
The hopelessness of the EU is well demonstrated by the current rhetoric issuing from its inner chambers: that Britain must…
Plato and the problem with grammar school
Theresa May wants to use grammar schools to create a meritocratic, ‘socially mobile’ society at a cost of £50 million.…
Aristotle on the collective wisdom of Brexit voters
It comes as no surprise to find that there has recently been much talk among Brexit supporters about ‘the wisdom…
Ancient Rome’s scandalous special advisers
Theresa May has brought her own advisers with her into No. 10, and as usual the knives are out for…
Why a Roman might have intervened to help the Brits in India
Because no country can interfere in another’s legal system, there is little the UK can do to help the six…
Post-Brexit Britain should copy the Roman empire’s border policy
Whether the EU commission knows what is good for it or not — always a tricky call — post-Brexit Britain…
How Olympia beat the cheats
What to do about today’s Olympic drug cheats? Since ancient Greeks did not do chemistry, drugs were not a problem.…
Ancient and modern: Corbyn’s Labour is stuck in Plato’s cave
Wrapped in his fantasy world of a Labour party ruling the country in accordance with the diktats of those of…
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