Dialogue
Brown’s Britain is Bankrupt
Daniel Johnson: Parliament is supposed to be the guardian of liberty, but it seems rather that its members have been taking liberties. The result is a great upsurge of righteous indignation, a demand for equality in the name of justice. The ruling class, the political class, deserve to be swept away — off to the tumbrils with them! It's a Jacobin mood. Get out the guillotine!
We can joke about it, but there have been real revolutions. Frank, seeing as you're on the receiving end: how do you see the relationship between liberty and equality?
Frank Field: I don't see it relating to our present discontent at all. I think the last word entering people's heads is equality. I think they're after blood, partly because they're worried about what's happening to the country. I think this is a very good way of punishing people who should have had more foresight, who have landed them in this particular set-up.
Previous columns
We Need to Talk about Immigration
DAVID COLEMAN AND LIONEL SHRIVERMay 2009
David Coleman, Professor of Demography at Oxford, and Lionel Shriver, prize-winning novelist, discuss the politics of population with Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson
Denying Israel's Deniers
HOWARD JACOBSON AND A.B. YEHOSHUAApril 2009
The British and Israeli novelists Howard Jacobson and A.B. Yehoshua discuss the new wave of anti-Jewish rhetoric with Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson
Helping Africa Break Free
DAMBISA MOYO AND RICHARD DOWDENMarch 2009
Aid to Africa is the problem, not the solution, according to Dambisa Moyo, Zambian-born economist and author of Dead Aid. She discusses the issue with Richard Dowden, executive director of the Royal African Society, and Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson
Nothing Left But the Credits
PHILIP FRENCH AND PETER WHITTLEFebruary 2009
In the run-up to the Oscars, the doyen of British film criticism Philip French discusses the demise of cinema as an art form with Standpoint's critic Peter Whittle and editor Daniel Johnson
More Popular than Jesus: The Hubris of the Music Industry
IAN BOSTRIDGE AND TIM BLANNINGJanuary 2009
The tenor Ian Bostridge and the historian Tim Blanning discuss popular and classical music with Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson
The Terrorist Threat to Business
LUKE JOHNSON AND MICHAEL BURLEIGHDecember 2008
Luke Johnson, entrepreneur and business commentator, discusses terrorism's growing menace with historian Michael Burleigh and Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson
The British Gas Man Cometh (Not)
MIRIAM GROSSDecember 2008
Standpoint senior editor Miriam Gross tries seven times in vain to negotiate the hopeless beaurocracy of British Gas's customer service department
Is Capitalism Morally Bankrupt?
SAMUEL BRITTAN AND EDWARD HADASNovember 2008
Samuel Brittan and Edward Hadas, both distinguished economic commentators, discuss where to place the blame for the current global crisis with Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson
Is There a New Cold War with Russia?
EDWARD LUCAS AND MARY DEJEVSKYOctober 2008
Edward Lucas and Mary Dejevsky, both leading commentators on Russia and eastern Europe, discuss the Georgian crisis and its implications for the West
Rethinking the War on Terror
PHILIP BOBBITT AND MICHAEL GOVESeptember 2008
The presidential adviser and author of Terror and Consent, Philip Bobbitt, shares his ideas on the war on terror in a Standpoint dialogue with Conservative politician and author of Celsius 7/7, Michael Gove
Bringing the House Down
SIMON GRAY AND CHARLES SPENCERAugust 2008
The playwright Simon Gray died on August 7. Shortly before his death he shared his thoughts on the theatre and much else in a Standpoint Dialogue with The Daily Telegraph's theatre critic Charles Spencer and our editor Daniel Johnson
The Politics of Climate Change
OLIVER LETWIN AND NIGEL LAWSONJuly 2008
Former Tory chancellor Nigel Lawson challenges David Cameron’s Conservatives, represented by the party’s policy chief Oliver Letwin, to break with the consensus on global warming. Their discussion is chaired by Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson
Long Night of the Red Star
JUNG CHANG, JON HALLIDAY AND SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIOREJune 2008
Jung Chang and her husband Jon Halliday are leading authorities on Mao, while Simon Sebag Montefiore has published two major works on Stalin. With Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson, they discuss the two communist dictators who were responsible for up to 100 million deaths
