Read with me: The Social Contract, Part III

Welcome to Part III of my Read Along of Jean-Jacque Rousseau's The Social Contract, published in 1762. It is perhaps one of Rousseau's most memorable and influential works, and contributed significantly to the philosophy of the social contract — that is, the idea that, in a society, people consent to give up some freedoms for …

Read with me: The Social Contract, Part II

Welcome to Part II of my Read Along of Jean-Jacque Rousseau's The Social Contract, published in 1762. It is perhaps one of Rousseau's most memorable and influential works, and contributed significantly to the philosophy of the social contract — that is, the idea that, in a society, people consent to give up some freedoms for …

Read with me: The Social Contract, Part I

In this Read With Me series, we’ll be having a close look at The Social Contract, written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and published in 1762. It is perhaps one of his most memorable and influential works, and contributed significantly to the philosophy of the social contract — that is, the idea that, in a society, people …

So You Want to Become a Pirate…

It’s easy to understand. The life of piracy has not lost its appeal. Perhaps you have in mind becoming something dashing like Errol Flynn in his depiction of Captain Blood? Or perhaps the erratic and mischievous Jack Sparrow? — sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow! Maybe you’re more inspired by the famous, popular figure of Long John …

Five Books That Will Make You Think Differently About Capitalism

How should we shape the economy to deal with income inequality and climate change? What role should the state play in economic activity? Should we fear AI? These questions are some of the most important ones facing us today. In this post, we’ll have a look at how an array of scholars have tackled them, …

Review: Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing (2017)

So I appreciate that I’m a bit late to the party with this one, and I know I don’t normally review works of fiction, but I’ve just finished reading this book and I had to say something about it. (Though given that I typically review history books, and that this is a work of historical …

Review: Padraic X. Scanlan, Slave Empire (2020)

Scholars, up until the 1930s, have seen the abolition of slavery as the major turning point in the  history of the British Empire, the keystone of British Liberalism, and the foundational contribution Britain has made to the world. This is a view that is still endorsed by politicians today. It is a view that requires …

Review: Sathnam Sanghera, Empireland (2021)

We may know well Britain’s impact on the world. We have all heard about how, given that it covered a quarter of the globe at its peak, the sun never set on the British Empire. Through empire, Britain spread its language, its customs, and its philosophies. It also spread fear, hatred, and death. While this …

Review: Philip Stephens, Britain Alone (2021)

How has Britain been defined by its relationship with the United States and Europe since the Second World War? How did the Suez Crisis in 1956 presage Britain’s reassessment of its place in the world, and how did this assessment change in the lead up to the 2016 referendum? These are the questions that Philip …