The weather in Glasgow in November may be terrible, but the plane-load of Syrian refugees arriving there this afternoon probably weren’t too dismayed. Continue reading
There are lots of reasons to distrust and dislike Vladimir Putin. I won’t bother to list them all here. But I have a grudging respect for him. Putin gets things done. Not necessarily the right things, but not necessarily the wrong things either. Continue reading
Three items of news have caught my attention recently. The first is the decision by America’s Supreme Court to allow same-sex marriage. Such a decision may have seemed impossible a couple of decades ago, and yet with hindsight it seems incredible that it took so long.
I know that not all readers of my blog will be in favour of this move, but we can all surely be thankful that we live in democratic countries where such decisions are made transparently and peacefully, according to the rule of law, and where open debate about them is possible. Continue reading
Despite many commentators’ predictions of a hung parliament, the outcome of the UK’s general election was a clear majority for David Cameron’s Conservative Party. It seems that on the whole, the people of England and Wales rejected the parties of the left, and embraced the party that promised to help “hard-working families.” Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged Democracy, Economic growth, Economics, Equality, Free trade, Politics, Prediction
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will elect a new government next week, and the comedian and political activist Russell Brand has urged people not to vote. That’s because, in Brand’s view, all politicians are in office purely for personal gain. However, after listening to a lot of voters being interviewed on the news this past week, it seems to me that it’s actually the electorate that thinks this way, not the politicians. Continue reading
A lot has been written about the recent murder of 12 journalists and cartoonists at the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris. It’s a good sign that so much has been said – freedom of expression is alive and well – at least in the West. In many Muslim countries, by contrast, saying what you think can get you flogged or executed. Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged Belief, Democracy, Freedom, Human rights, Philosophy, Politics, Religion
Give unlimited resources to a caveman and he will chop down trees and burn them as firewood.
Give unlimited resources to a Victorian and he will burn coal to power a steam engine. Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Technology
Tagged Creativity, Economic growth, Economics, Environment, Equality, Free trade, Human rights, Industrial Revolution, Money, Politics, Poverty, Technology
I’m a huge fan of the French actor Gerard Depardieu. Jean de Florette is one of my all-time favourite films. But the recent wealth tax introduced in France has led Depardieu to leave the country and hand back his French passport.
If I had to pay 75% of my income in tax for the privilege of living in France, I’d probably think twice too. Continue reading
This post is a response to fellow blogger Daedalus Lex. He asks the question, “How does one live a good life?” and provides two mutually exclusive answers. Continue reading
Politics and purity make strange bedfellows.
Here I’m discussing how the moral foundation of Purity influences our political tendencies. This is the last of the five core moral foundations that I’ve been examining in this series. The others were Caring, Fairness, Loyalty and Authority. Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged Belief, Environment, Freedom, Human rights, Language, Philosophy, Politics, Religion
Steve Morris studied Physics at Oxford and now writes about smartphones and gadgets at review site S21. You can find his ideas about the future at Singularity Weblog. He is also the author, Jackson Radcliffe. He is married to Margarita Morris.
