Civilisation

“There’s something enticing about a belief that great men are in command of history. It is easier, perhaps, to deal with that than to deal with the more alarming possibility that the norms which underpinned post-war liberalism are fraying”

“Current events would seem to suggest that there is no consensus on what “our values” might actually be. Society is more divided than at any time I can recall in my lifetime”

“Understanding a culture’s magic is as important as understanding its religion or science. It can bring us closer to the mindset of a people that might otherwise seem completely alien to us now”

“Innovation — it’s the reason you’re almost certainly richer than your great-grandparents, why your lighting at home is powered by electricity rather than refined lamb fat, and why your hulking great suitcase has wheels”

“Stephanie Kelton’s new book, The Deficit Myth, promises to explode the “myth” that governments need to worry about debt or overspending”

The ornithologist W.H. Hudson sought wilderness in the city. It is as if he was writing for us today

“Complete solitude” in a remote Norwegian village led to the most productive time of his life

A single body of work, such as the piano concertos, can provide an inexhaustible spring of delight

Facing a summer without cricket