THE liberty of the press is the birth-right of a BRITON, and is justly esteemed the firmest bulwark of the liberties of this country. It has been the terror of all bad ministers; for their dark and dangerous designs, or their weakness, inability, and duplicity, have thus been detected and shewn to the public, generally … Continue reading A message from a friend of Liberty
Tag: Politics
Sir Keir Starmer meets Donald Trump
A messenger was dispatched half a day's journey before us, to give the king notice of my approach; and to desire that his majesty would please to appoint a day and hour, when it would be his gracious pleasure, that I might have the honour to lick the dust before his footstool. This is the … Continue reading Sir Keir Starmer meets Donald Trump
Thomas Hobbes explains climate change denialism
"Adhaerence To Custome, From Ignorance Of The Nature Of Right And Wrong Ignorance of the causes, and originall constitution of Right, Equity, Law, and Justice, disposeth a man to make Custome and Example the rule of his actions; in such manner, as to think that Unjust which it hath been the custome to punish; and … Continue reading Thomas Hobbes explains climate change denialism
A Letter on the British Constitution
A new book by Lord Hennessy and Andrew Blick (Could It Happen Here? The Day a Prime Minister Refuses to Resign) makes amusing and instructive reading: the authors speculate about what might ensue if a right-wing populist prime minister were to lose his majority in the House of Commons, and attempted to cling to power … Continue reading A Letter on the British Constitution
Perry Anderson is wrong about populism
James Mill on the Law of Nations
In another of his essays for the supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Scottish radical James Mill considered the Law of Nations—or what we today know as international law—and how such laws might be enforced. Mill remarks upon the general outlawry that characterises international relations thus: "Have nations, in reality, combined, so constantly and steadily, … Continue reading James Mill on the Law of Nations
Will Britain continue to grant Israeli officials impunity?
The visit of the Israeli Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi—the supreme commander of the occupation forces—to Britain last month, impels us to make a number of observations, none of which are favourable to the British Government. Halevi’s visit came mere days after the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli … Continue reading Will Britain continue to grant Israeli officials impunity?
Mill, Ricardo, and the Folly of Tradition
The coronation of George IV took place in 1821; and it was already evident to rational men, two hundred years ago, that such a ceremony was ludicrous—a relic of "barbarous ages", entirely unworthy of a civilised people. James Mill, the Scottish-born radical, in a letter to his intimate friend, David Ricardo, the economist, argued that … Continue reading Mill, Ricardo, and the Folly of Tradition
A Letter on Theory and History
As applied to political practice. I have seen some remarks from different Socialists which seem to place History and Theory in opposition to each other. History, they say, is what really happened: therefore it is superior to Theory. In so far as the word Theory is often (and unfortunately) used to denote any speculative or … Continue reading A Letter on Theory and History
J. S. Mill: How to Become a Philosopher
In an 1862 letter, John Stuart Mill gave the following advice to an aspiring writer: "The way to cultivate a really philosophical intellect is to go on long thinking out subjects for one’s own instruction—with a view to understand them as thoroughly as possible oneself; reading in the meanwhile whatever is best worth reading on … Continue reading J. S. Mill: How to Become a Philosopher
Notes in the Margins of the Days 