I reviewed Peter Oborne’s new book, The Assault on Truth: Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and the Emergence of a New Moral Barbarism, for The Guardian.
Review of The Assault on Truth
Review of Brexitland
I reviewed Maria Sobolewska and Robert Ford’s Brexitland, on the rise of Remain/Leave identities, for the London Review of Books.
The history of The Spectator
A review essay, published at the New Left Review blog, on the history of The Spectator and what it tells us about Britain’s new political elite.
The decline of the ‘state effect’
Comment piece on the crisis of trust in British government, originally drafted in October, now shared on the PERC blog.
What was Corbynism?
Blogpost at PERC, seeking to relocate Corbynism in the political and economic context that gave rise to it: Osbornite austerity.
‘Forget unity – elections are now about revenge as much as representation
Comment piece in The Guardian, on trends towards polarised, plebiscitary politics, and the problem they pose for liberalism.
‘Liberal democracies have a creeping loyalty problem’
Comment piece in The Financial Times, on how excessive loyalty in the political arena is normalising policy failure and clientalism.
‘Woke conspiracies’
Piece for the London Review of Books on the forces mobilising against the BBC and what they actually want.
Review of Head Hand Heart
I reviewed David Goodhart’s new book, Head Hand Heart, for The Guardian
New journal article
‘Anti-equivalence: pragmatics of post-liberal dispute’ , looking at the fractious and warlike character of contemporary political discourse, is now published online by European Journal of Social Theory.
The economic context of the ‘war’ on universities
Blogpost published at PERC., on how the financial crisis opened the door to attacks on ‘low value’ and ‘woke’ degrees.
The politics of like and dislike
Essay in the London Review of Books, on how media and new technologies are harnessed to trigger ‘culture wars’.
The rise of the rule-breakers
Article written for The New Statesman, on the problem of rules and behavioural governance in the face of coronavirus.
What’s wrong with WhatsApp?
Guardian Long Read on how closed groups are unsettling politics and public life.
Succession Economics – new working paper
My new working paper on the politics and economics of inheritance, both in a public and a private sense, is now published online (and open access) by Centre for Understanding Prosperity.
William Davies 