Enemies of Liberal Democracy
What is “liberal democracy” in a multicultural society, where citizens have different, and often opposing, beliefs and viewpoints, many grounded in absolute, or fairly absolute, conceptions of the world?
One theory of liberal democracy is that it is a system, not for resolving differences, but for managing them, grounded by respect for the equality of all citizens, and in the justice of its institutions.
Testing Times
Car parks may sometimes be a welcome sight, but they are seldom a pretty one. Alexandra Park and Palace in North London, for all its attractive features (not least the views) has some pretty grim examples.
Fortunately, the largest area reserved for cars is in a corner by the southerly road entrance, screened by the slope and by trees. It is known as the “Paddock” car park – a name connected to the fact that for many years there was a small but popular racecourse on the flat expanse of the Park.
Personal and Impersonal Training
I’m standing in a steady drizzle, on a surface of uneven and cracked tarmac. At least I am not wearing singlet and shorts but a fleece and cycling leggings. I am being told to do various physical movements, most of which I find difficult, if not painful. This has got to go on for an hour, unless the rain worsens. What age am I? Seven, or nearly seventy? In my head at this very moment not much separates the two.
On the Eve of the Second Lockdown
Lord Byron wrote a long, quasi-autobiographical poem in the early C19 – Child Harold. It made him famous, and gave us that staple of the Romantic imagination – the Byronic Hero, a melancholy, rootless, but noble and passionate figure.
Child Harold was written in four Cantos, or books, with a break in between the first and later two. In that gap occurred the final spasm of the Napoleonic Wars: the battle of Waterloo in June 1815.
The Contingency of Truth
Truth, at present, seems to be very elusive. That is, important truth, sincerely sought. There are, clearly and depressingly, many people disregarding or twisting truth for partisan ends. Enough is being written on that. I refer, to begin with, to the mostly honest debates about science and policy in dealing with the pandemic. The premisses of the debates are: medical and epidemiological facts (hard truths, if you like); and political and moral priorities (for crude example, economic survival versus survival of the vulnerable), which have to do, not so much with hard facts, but rather hard ethical choices. However, if the former cannot be nailed, the latter may be disastrously misinformed.
In Notting Hill; Memories of Roy Jenkins
I don’t really know the Notting Hill area of London. Until recently, I’ve only remembered having visited the Eastern periphery, over towards Queensway and Paddington. The heart of the district, Portobello Road and the terraces set round private gardens off Ladbroke Grove, were pretty much foreign territory.
