Lulled by the celebritariat

Toby Young

Exactly 50 years ago Michael Young published his famous dystopia "The Rise of the Meritocracy." His son Toby argues that we never got the meritocratic educational elite predicted by his father, instead we got the celebrity class

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A second tulip mania

The prices of contemporary art works have risen to astonishing levels in recent years. Insiders say it's because we have been living through a golden age of art. Nonsense, argue Ben Lewis and Jonathan Ford, it is a classic investment bubble

Fixated on Friedman

The severity of the credit crunch has taken the world's central bankers by surprise. But they might have foreseen it had they not been intellectually enslaved by the ideas of the recently-deceased über-economist, Milton Friedman

Blame it on the Brits

Most people think British power has declined over the past century, but not the Iranians. On the 30th anniversary of the revolution they remain deeply suspicious of British motives. These feelings are now irrational, but are grounded in history

The stealthy rise of renewables

Britain has created a regressive stealth tax to fund the growth of the renewable energy sector. It's unfair, expensive and crude—but it works. What's needed though is for this subsidy to be more wisely directed—away from renewables towards zero carbon power

The meaning of Obama

Michael Lind

The messianic cult around Obama was always at odds with his modest policy proposals. But events can force politicians to be bold. The new president has a chance to redefine American liberalism

Is Europe ready?

A new transatlantic alliance is possible, but it will not be easy. Europe will need to keep up its end of the bargain

Post-racial kitsch?

Obama's election will not end America's racial divisions. But it will change them, say black intellectuals

Performing blackness

Jonathan Derbyshire

To many, Obama's election meant the dawn of a new "post-racial" era for America. But, say many leading black American thinkers, the reality is much more complicated

Heil Comrade

Hans Kundnani

Baader-Meinhof is flashy and violent, but the glamour hides Germany's odd history of leftist anti-semitism

The kids are alright

Steven Fielding

David Hare has a pedigree in New Labour bashing, and his new play confirms his views haven't changed. But it also displays are more grown-up understanding of politics

Building bridges

Jim Sciutto

Obama is wildly popular across the globe. But in the middle east, America's toxic image will not be cured by a new face and friendlier rhetoric alone

The voice of the poet

Frieda Klotz

A new book of interviews with Seamus Heaney shows us a genial, complex man who can scarcely believe his own success at times—but who has throughout his life never wavered in his belief in the power of poetry

Dr Roget’s 990 lists

Lesley Chamberlain

Roget's Thesaurus is more than just a book about words—and the story of its author's often unhappy life provides a suggestive counterpoint to its complexities

Thaksin's ghost

William Barnes

Thailand's disgraced billionaire ex-leader might have been banned from the country. But he is still behind the crisis convulsing it

Girl power

David Cameron's drive to attract women voters is misconceived

Sarah Palin for poet laureate

She's not to everyone's political taste, but she's a mean poet

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Rainbow's end

A split in the ANC means South Africa may finally become a multi-party democracy

Let's talk about books

What do you get when you interview 48 great authors? Something immodest, self-contradictory, grumpy—and rather wonderful

A third way in the middle east

Gilles Kepel's polemic on the middle east conflict is a useful overview, but it is marred by stereotypes and wishful thinking

Is America growing apart?

A new book argues that politics has made American communities more divided than ever. It's right in parts, but for the wrong reasons

The moral wilderness

Alasdair MacIntyre virtually invented the young field of virtue ethics. Yet MacIntyre thinks his acolytes are sadly misguided

Performance notes

Martin Kettle

Will the long-awaited revival of Korngold's best opera be applauded or panned? Plus, why a recession in tenors might not be a bad thing

Smallscreen

Peter Bazalgette

Most of the Brit commentators tramping around America this season have missed the point. More4's drama, John Adams, is the true text for our times

Washington Watch

Tumbler

Who will Obama face in four years' time? Three candidates lead the field. Plus, Obama's spare cash and 2008 might not have seen a record boost to turnout after all

This sporting life

David Goldblatt

Twenty20 has knocked test cricket for six. How should the sport handle the wild success of the new format? Plus, how a team from Nairobi's slums saved Kenyan football

China café

Mark Kitto

There's no stopping progress in China—dirt roads are replacing the lovely old mountain trails, and only I seem to care. Luckily, it's the time of year to get drunk

Brussels diary

Manneken Pis

In January, Czech president and climate change sceptic Vaclav Klaus takes over the EU presidency as Obama becomes president. On the environment, it's an intriguing role reversal

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Grayling's Question

AC Grayling

In fact

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