Issue 110
May 2005
Contents
Winner (still) takes all
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Why are so many Britons retiring on inadequate pensions? Why are trains still unreliable and most urban comprehensives so poor? Blame our ultra-competitive, winner-takes-all political system
Getting a life
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
The new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography has been denounced for its many mistakes and tendentious commentary. But it extends the idea of Britishness, includes an impressive variety of lives, and the online version enables hours of happy browsing by entry, contributor, theme or even phrase
Lessons of power
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
After seven years at No 10, I believe that government retains a great power for good, and that politicians are as impressive, and ethical, as their counterparts anywhere else. The danger is not from hubris, but that governments will believe the myth that they are condemned to mistrust and powerlessness
Learning the Thai sex trade
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Thailand generates fantasies, both for tourists in search of sex and for aid workers peddling lurid tales of trafficking. The tsunami created more false horror stories. What are the facts of the trade?
Comment (3)Search for the middle
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
The Daily Mail speaks for this mythic region—the Guardian against it. The butt of snobbish jokes, "middle England" is still the place in which politicians most want to be loved. So where is it?
A rational Quixote
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Cervantes is celebrated as the first and greatest of novelists. Less appreciated is Don Quixote's own role as the founding father of the Enlightenment. His delusion is the key to reason
Migration matters
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Immigration is not only politically controversial, it is extremely complex and hard to measure accurately. There are big flows into and out of the UK every year - but in recent years more immigrants have been arriving than ever before
Spare a thought for the pollsters
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
No prizes are awarded to the opinion polling company that gets closest to the eventual election result, but that doesn't mean the stakes aren't high
Emotional spasm?
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Like the US left in 1968, a section of the British left wants to spite its own face
Not black and white
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
The word "racist" is necessary but devalued. We need more rigour and realism in applying it
New model welfare
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Britain is developing a new Anglo-social model, liberal but social too
Apolitical economy
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
The end of boom and bust means the politics has been taken out of economics. How?
To catch a thief
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Iraq's intelligence service is dominated by ex-Ba'athists. Are they loyal to the regime?
Dying brands
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
We still love "legacy" retailers like WH Smith and M&S, but not enough to shop there
Franco-Euro-flap
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
France is no longer master of Europe, and the scramble for a "yes" vote is nearing hysteria
Theatre forecast
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
The great St Petersburg company shows what's possible when actors dedicate their entire lives to one theatre
Private view
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Joseph Beuys was the original of the daft, cod-political art world we now know so well. But he did it first, and best, and silliness has not diminished his importance
The English Hitchens
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Despite his US citizenship, Christopher Hitchens should be considered the finest English critic of his generation—of the literary, not just political, type
Peculiar words
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Dr Johnson wrote a dictionary to teach people to use English well, but also to record how they spoke it. It remains both authoritative and personal
Does aid work?
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Very little, argues one book; quite a lot, says another; a huge amount, contends a third. It all depends on the quality of both the donor and the recipient
Musical notes
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
The St Matthew Passion at the Cadogan Hall revealed the depth of British tenor talent, but the Ring at Covent Garden is so far only a partial success
Smallscreen
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Doctor Who was the product of a time when Britain was casting around for a new role, a new identity. British television still is, which is why the show is back
Widescreen
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Making films in Iran, I came to understand why the country's cinema is so remarkable. It has risen above the restrictions of both Islam and Hollywood
Peerless
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Badger can't stop Antarctica from melting, but he can get some ice for his penguin
Brussels diary
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Brussels is paralysed with fear and dismay over the French referendum. Plus—why can't the British and the Americans get on over trade?
Out of mind
21st May 2005 — Issue 110
Teaching my son to drive exposes him to a high risk of death. He is as responsible as I was at 17, but his brain is not yet ready to prevent him taking chances