As Keynes observed, the power of ideas — good ones and tragic, wrong-headed ones — is far greater than is commonly understood. As Keynes observed, the power of ideas — good ones and tragic, wrong-headed ones — is far greater than is commonly understood. The Thatcher counter-revolution in the 1980s was made possible by intellectual
This week’s Portrait of the week Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, cut short a trade mission to South Africa, returning to give a statement on the phone hacking scandal to the Commons, which delayed its summer recess. Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corporation, appeared before a select committee of the Commons investigating
The value of honour The Murdoch family keep on saying ‘sorry’, but the popular feeling is that they should be saying they feel ashamed. That, however, suggests they have a sense of shame in the first place. For Homer’s heroes, shame (aidôs) and its counterpart honour (timê) were the two most powerful forces that controlled
Select company The appearance of Rupert Murdoch before the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee confirmed that some of the best action in parliament is now before select committees, not in the chamber. — Select committees were around in the 18th century, when they were convened for particular purposes. An early one, in
Spectator readers respond to recent articles Selective indignation Sir: People are — quite correctly — very offended by the phone-hacking antics of the News of the World journalists and editors. But did any of these (now) horrendously affronted guardians of the rights of individual privacy give the slightest damn when similarly disgusting reporters were so gleefully reporting
