Issue 175
October 2010
Contents
An academic question
Why did we stop loving our universities?
Comment (8)Matters of life and death
Interest in “trolleyology”—a way of studying moral quandaries—has taken off in recent years. Some philosophers say it sheds useful light on human behaviour, others see it as a pointless pursuit of the unknowable
Patron saint of the big society
Edmund Burke and the big society
All in the mind
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Ethnic minorities suffer high rates of mental illness—because of their background as migrants, not racism
Master class in victimhood
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Black boys used to fail at school because of racism, now they fail because they don’t pay attention
Wanted: a new image
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Outdated diversity policies create a ghetto from which black artists may never escape
Prospect roundtable: blame it on the baby boomers
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175The minister for universities and science talks about inequality, rebalancing the economy, the fiscal crisis, baby boomers and reforming higher education
Rethinking race
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Munira Mirza introduces a special feature on the failings of multiculturalist policies today
Deepening the divide
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Despite a decade of official anti-racism in Oldham, racial tensions have worsened
Lula's legacy
The next president of Brazil needs to keep up the good work
Debating the DIY generation
Tom Chatfield reports from three party conference debates on technology and the future of education, sponsored by Prospect, Channel 4 Education and the Nominet Trust
Has the government got it wrong on universities?
Experts debate the pros and cons of the Browne report on higher education
Popshot: the new face of British poetry?
Prospect talks to the 23-year-old editor of the first British poetry magazine to win international distribution
Why Ed Miliband should own the big society
"Miliband claims notion of the 'big society' for Labour" proclaimed the Guardian earlier this month. Prospect's Shiv Malik was three months ahead with this idea
How multiculturalism fails immigrants
Grouping people according to their "historical" cultural identity is both divisive and dangerous
In praise of dead white men
Why black people need to learn the western canon
Yemen: wrong lesson from Iraq
The recent attacks on western targets in Yemen show the need to fight the terrorist threat there, but America’s Iraq experience is stifling efforts to help the Arab world’s poorest country
A lesson from history
A wide consensus supporting cuts does not mean they are the right policy—consider the past
Killing innovation
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175The coalition is saying the right things about rebalancing the economy, but it’s not doing them
University challenge
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175New, private institutions offering a single, shorter course could be much more cost-effective
Good luck Nigeria
Fifty years after independence, Africa’s most populous country is finally trying to clean up its act
Why ringfence aid?
At a time of cutbacks, we should be proud of Britain’s commitment to international development
Disaster planning: It's good to talk
A new dialogue is needed between policymakers and scientists to tackle natural crises
Evolution: swing power
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175It was technology, not natural selection, that made modern man
Making a better world
20th September 2010 — Issue 175Big Pharma should be given a financial incentive to produce the right drugs at the right price
The leader we deserved
Labour's new leader has much to learn from Tony Blair. "A Journey" is an honest and insightful self-portrait by a man who personified modern Britain
Franzen's Freedom: a novel for the noughties
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175The world has been waiting nine years for Jonathan Franzen’s latest work of fiction. And this angry, cranky, compendious, dazzling book doesn’t disappoint
Capitalism in question
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Ha-Joon Chang is a formidable critic of orthodox, free-trade economics and a true exponent of the art of political economy
Cultural notebook: the seedier stacks of the British Library
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Porn has come a long way in 50 years or so
FiveBooks: Max Mosley
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Max Mosley recommends five books about privacy
Performance notes: Claudio Abbado
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Claudio Abbado conducted the best concert I have ever attended—and then surpassed it with his extraordinary Mahler’s 9th
Words that think for us: Art by any other name
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175There’s a deadening logic to the anti-language of art criticism
The way we were: Under the knife
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Two extracts from letters and diaries about 19th-century surgery
Smallscreen
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175The last 30 years have brought big rewards for independent television producers, but now the broadcasters want a slice of the pie
England, my England!
As Michael Wood's "Story of England" debuts this week on BBC4, Maurice Glasman wonders whether Wood misses the big questions
Brussels diary: The EU’s homeless foreign ministry
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Starved of offices, staff and funds, does the EU actually want the foreign ministry it has created?
China café: My literary death match
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175We get a lot of guests in summer—too many for comfort.
Number cruncher: a matter of trust
Not politicians, not journalists. So who do the public trust?
Dr Pangloss: The age of less
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175What if the east fast-forwards to a worldview where Ikean minimalism is more chic than Hollywood extravagance?
Everyday philosophy: Righteous or just lucky?
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Gauguin: great artist, bad man?
Economy class: finding a narrative
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Finding a coherent economic position should be top priority for the next Labour leader
Letter from Cyprus
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Recent changes on the island are only widening the gulf between Greek and Turkish Cypriots
Political notes: the Sheffield J’accuse
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Cuts to jobs and services are reopening the wounds of the Thatcher era, but that doesn’t mean an automatic boost for Labour
Sporting life: cuts kick in
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175The London Olympics were meant to leave us a legacy of greater public participation in sport. But the coming cuts may kill that off
If I ruled the world: less is more
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Miss Piggy said you should never eat anything bigger than your head. Fat people clearly weren’t listening. I’ll cut them down to size…
Diary
22nd September 2010 — Issue 175Tony keeps on rockin', Tories keep it close, and Tiger's billions are bested by Roman charioteer
