Our founding editor looks back on a decade in which Standpoint sought to uphold the highest political and cultural values

"There was nothing unavoidable about the predicament in which the United Kingdom now finds itself"

People will die for their country but not for a supranational federation, despite President Macron’s hubristic vision of a united Europe

A New York lecture

A bold critic of our present academic malaise

The guru of “repressive tolerance” and campus radicals

The Royal Academy’s exhibition of Klimt and Schiele drawings from the Albertina is erotic, manic and morbid

The man who proclaimed the end of history is now history himself

"What has alarmed many people is the revelation that the Labour Party is now led by a man who sees no place for a Jewish state and has no time for British Jews who defend such a state"

William Simmonds was a modest but extraordinary artist, whose reputation rested on his marionettes and puppets

A brilliant new biography sheds fresh light on the wartime leader and refutes a renewed claim that the whole conflict was unnecessary

The veteran Labour MP  has always championed the poor, but has now quit the party because of the far Left’s anti-Semitism

"V.S. Naipaul is an irreparable loss, but his astonishingly rich and varied corpus of works will live on to nourish the hearts and minds of posterity"

‘A sudden reassertion of national sovereignty and identity is perceived by many as a reversal of what has come to resemble a natural order of things’

The ruthless architect of the English Reformation

The Lord Protector welcomed Jews and tolerated Catholics

"At the time of writing it is Mrs Merkel, rather than Mr Trump, whose authority is falling away"

The greatest American journalist of his generation, who overcame severe disability but has died in his sixties

The culture of intolerant individualism preaches diversity but practises conformity

The grotesque sight of politicians lining up to praise communism’s founder should not blind us to the crimes committed in its name

Far more than just a jolly trip down memory lane, with a backdrop of dreaming spires, this is a moving and mature work

A man of science and the humanities who seeks a balance between research and ethics in the pursuit of a worthy life

'Trump may not be the ideal leader of the free world. But he understands what is at stake, he knows what must be done and he has the willpower to see it through'

Thoughts on the survival of Western civilisation

"Over a hundred issues, Standpoint's focus and urgency have remained constant"

The poster-boy of the Enlightenment was an arch-egotist with a fanatical side

Mary Beard’s bête noire, the father of art history and archaeology

"All but ready to give up in despair, our opinion-formers wallow in recrimination and blame"

Oxfam’s former chief executive now stands accused of complacency and hypocrisy

A City high-flier (and mother of nine) who is always willing to challenge the status quo

“Civilisation” implies so much that defies definition, but is instantly recognisable. So here is an attempt to illustrate by a literary example what seems to us to be worth defending

Laura Freeman’s The Reading Cure is a miraculous memoir — both a compendium of learning lightly worn and a record of her recovery from anorexia

From martinet to martyr at the Royal Academy's show examining the art collection of Charles I

Do we pay enough attention to what the great wartime leader actually said?

'We need a national debate about the kind of country we now hope to be; and we need it now.'

The architect of the EU’s hard line on Brexit

The author of one of the greatest German autobiographies is also an Anglophile man of letters

"There are plenty of precedents for leaders of the free world going it alone"

As the EU tries to abolish the nation state, a Hobbesian concept of national sovereignty is the basis of the US President’s emerging doctrine

The German artist Käthe Kollwitz suffered darkness and depression but emerges from a show at the Ikon Gallery as an indomitable survivor

Can the West defend itself? On the face of it, the question answers itself: of course we can. And yet Donald Trump has called into question its very survival.

An inscription in an old book is the clue to a lost world of literary salons and love affairs

Freedom and democracy are under threat and the West’s response is increasingly feeble. Who is prepared to defend our fundamental values?

A great backbencher who mocked officialdom and championed ordinary people inside and outside the House

"Russia remains an enigma. We have no easy answer to the problems that arise when a great nation turns its back on Western civilisation."

'With violent death stalking our cities and Jeremy Corbyn’s inglorious revolution threatening our future, a sickening sense of doom now hangs over the country.'

A lecture by Daniel Johnson

Sadiq Khan knows how to make himself popular, but he has a duty to open up closed Muslim communities

Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor of Rotterdam, has the courage to tackle Islamic integration and extremism head-on

"Our enemy is illiberalism, but the worst traitors to the cause of liberty often go by the name of liberals"

Theresa May and Angela Merkel must rise above petty disputes to look beyond Brexit. The key to Europe’s future lies in Germany’s past

The historian of the Hispanic world, and champion of Western civilisation, who died last month

"Theresa May’s decision to call a snap general election — just before Standpoint went to press — will surely come to be seen as a stroke of genius."

Theresa May needs a post-Brexit vision of a ‘United Kingdom free to chart its own way in the world’. The election will test her leadership

"Is Western civilisation about to enter a new Dark Age, presided over by “populists”? No."

The deadly terrorist attack on Westminster underlines the urgency of strengthening the West’s strategy to defeat Islamism at home and abroad

"People understand that the threats facing the West are serious, whether or not politicians choose to take them seriously."

The once-great home of Immanuel Kant has become a post-Soviet dystopia, fortified by Putin — a time bomb waiting to explode

"The president-elect deserves the benefit of the doubt"

The German theologian unleashed the Reformation but ended up a fanatic anti-Semite

The Pope Emeritus has been a prophet without honour in his own land

"Like the moon, every religion has a dark and a light side. The most enduring perversions of faith always claim scriptural authority"

The new Prime Minister has much more in common with the Iron Lady than is generally believed — and may have to fight similar battles

"We are all living with the consequences of the great American abdication of the last decade."

Music appreciation should be a part of every schoolchild's life, and the BBC Proms play a vital part in lifelong musical education

There are at least three things wrong with the way the subject is taught at our universities today

"In her first two months on the bridge, Theresa May has skilfully steered the ship of state away from hazardous Continental rocks and into the open sea"

The titans of modern Western thought were products of the civilisation they revolutionised

A lecture in Madrid by Daniel Johnson

Amos Oz's new novel Judas embraces history, debate, and autobiography

The former Cabinet minister was the modest but highly effective lynchpin of the Cameron government

"The European question has been given a decisive answer by the British people. We believe it was the right one. And it is final. Three other questions remain. Why did it happen? What does it mean? And what will happen next?"

We must be prepared to defend our civilisation’s values with policies muscular enough to protect us from the growing totalitarian threat

Demolishing the self-mythologising of the high priestess of Nazi chic

Beyond Europe’s borders, storm clouds are gathering; what Brexit would mean for the survival of the West is a fair question — though one not always fairly answered

"The impulse to suppress freedom of speech is never holy, even if it has taken many centuries for both church and state to admit as much. And that unholy impulse will re-emerge unless we are vigilant."

"There is no nobler cause than the freedom of the press; but the more absolute that freedom is, the more ignoble may be the motives of those who avail themselves of it."

A performance by the Bach Collegium Japan shows that Western culture belongs to everyone

After Paris and Brussels, Londoners need to wake up to the alarming reality of a capital in which Islamist enclaves are allowed to flourish

The EU's foreign policy chief is a lightweight

The rising star of Israeli politics

"For eight years, Standpoint has tried to offer terra firma from which to observe our unfolding planetary drama"

In his latest book, Roger Scruton takes on the ultimate philosophical problem of death

We are witnessing a gigantic confidence trick being perpetrated against the most powerful and prosperous people on the planet.

'For Continentals, borders are a deadly serious matter'

'What makes the West unique are not recent phenomena, such as modern technology, but cultural factors which had been at work long before modernisation began some two centuries ago'

The legacy of the "father of Europe" is fast disintegrating

The master of realpolitik is much misunderstood

"The new Islamist Terror of the 21st century has so far exacted a global death toll at least in the hundreds of thousands, most of them civilians."

The former Archbishop of Canterbury seems too pleased with himself to reflect on his disastrous legacy

The last true intellectual of antiquity

"How much havoc do the jihadis have to wreak before Europe and America resolve to tackle the source of the evil?"

It has been a truism that intellectuals lean to the Left and sneer at the Right, but no more should this be the case

The letters of the great writer reveal affairs with both sexes but also an intense intellectual and spiritual life

The American philosopher should be lauded for his crisp counterblast to the politics of envy

"The ultimate demographic impact on Europe of the present wave of migration is totally unpredictable"

The genocidal ghouls of Isis are tearing down a precious piece of our civilisation. This is the price we pay for not standing up to barbarism

The post-war rehabilitation of Hitler's architect was utterly undeserved

Like the Gadarene swine, the Left are hurtling toward destruction

"The refusal to accept any domination of the Continent by one power has been the biggest British contribution to European peace and prosperity"

'The story of Cain and Abel, like so many others in the Hebrew Bible, expresses a profound truth about human nature.'

Anti-Semitism is rife, from liberal corridors of power to Muslim communities. We must not ignore our duty to the Jewish people

The anniversaries this month of Waterloo and the signing of Magna Carta should remind us of the benediction of our birth

Will Britain’s triumphant Prime Minister now show the maturity and character that the nation has a right to expect from him?

As we mark the bicentenary of Waterloo, there is an alarming trend towards rehabilitating Napoleon

The surprisingly humane Iron Duke who defeated Napoleon

"Only the party that wins the trust of the middle classes deserves to govern."

A "Metaphysical" dining society sets an example for today's academics

War and religion intertwined in the era of Cervantes

How much truth is there in the myth of the "noblest Roman"?

The renegade apostle deserves better than the demonisation he has recieved

The bold, atmospheric work of a contemporary German artist

Our political system, for all its imperfections, remains precious

In the era of Putin and Islamic State, we shall have to  dust off Clausewitz and confront reality

Cultural amnesia is very hard to reverse

The respected philosopher is a false friend of the West

The economist's legacy has been mostly disastrous

"In the war against the West, there have been many periods when the odds were against the survival of our civilisation."

Two American men of letters

Three refugees saw the Third Reich as the enemy of civilisation. Today we can learn from their example

Would a more Churchillian prime minister have reacted more robustly to Russia going rogue?

The hostility in Sino-Japanese relations

Jews and Christians have respect for their differences because they talk to each other. Can Muslims be persuaded to do the same?

A true revolutionary who showed his moral superiority over Communism by his magnanimity in victory

"It is perhaps best to see the British and the Germans as an odd couple with a tendency to lurch from throwing dishes to mutual admiration."

Was the artist an exploitative pornographer or one of the greatest artists of the 20th century?

Julie Bindel deserves praise for her readiness to investigate the murkier corners of this country - where civilisation often seems like a bad joke

They cast their literary spells over a generation, but have Martin Amis and Ian McEwan merit as moralists?

'The next few months will test David Cameron's nerve, as Britain plays its part in defending Western civilisation from Mitteleuropa to Mesopotamia'

"Islam is here to stay in Europe. Non-Muslims too must adapt, and we do."

A musical evening in North London recreates the spirit of the Weimar Republic

Our greatest living poet is a reminder to those in public life of the energy of intelligence created by the writing and criticism of poetry

The Liberal Democrat Business Secretary is a gravy-train hopper who does not deserve his reputation as an economic guru

"What impressed those of us who heard Father Halik was that Professor Tomáš Halik spoke much more forcefully than any British cleric would dare to do on such a formal occasion."

Unless Europeans and Americans reform government by cutting back its functions and adopting the best practice in delivering services, from Indian medicine to Singaporean welfare, they risk being overtaken by China and other rivals.

The betrayal of Ukraine is only the latest chapter in the slow retreat of Western civilisation since the triumph of 1989. Unless something changes soon, that retreat now threatens to become a stampede.

'It is easy to denigrate democracy while enjoying its benefits'

Has the literary world misunderstood Hanif Kureishi’s latest novel?

'Good writing, like clear thinking, is very hard to teach or to learn. If the writer has something to say, the words come naturally; if not, no amount of instruction will help.'

A painting by 19th-century social chronicler Honore Daumier reveals the synthetic outrage and hypocrisy of Bob Crow et al over the third-class-carriage proposals

'Although Mandela is an incomparably more important figure than Princess Diana, the process by which the real person is replaced by a fantasy is no more edifying this time'

A reflection on the past and future of the periodical

'Michelangelo was the best-remunerated artist in Italy and, like Bacon and Freud, he died a rich man. There the resemblace ends'

'The United States is now plagued by intimations of mortality, and is under a president whose highest ambition seems to be the abdication of global responsibilities.'

“While no longer accepting any special responsibility on the world stage, Obama pretends that we are all citizens together. Like Hamlet the President soliloquises; he does not act”

John Eliot Gardiner's new portrait is the culmination of a lifetime's devotion to the great composer

“John Kerry’s gaffe has changed the course of history. He is now engaged in a protracted negotiation with the Russians, which may give Assad the time he needs to win the civil war”

'Britain is living through a baby boom, but where does this demographic surge leave the prophecies of Europe's crisis of civilisation?'

Now that London is driving a revival in the UK's economy there will no longer be any mileage in anti-capitalist rhetoric

In praise of the author of the original Inferno, who ennobled not only the Italian language but all humanity

David Kynaston’s Modernity Britain, the fifth of his series of histories of Britain since 1945, reveals the late Fifties to be not a time of illiberalism and repression, but of a generosity of spirit

'Britain's best hope of renewing and defending Western civilisation is to recognise that the English language has conquered the world without a drop of blood being spilt'

Historical awareness is no longer seen as the cornerstone of a good education. We are falling victim to cultural amnesia

Against all the odds Standpoint has survived and flourished. This month, thanks to our readers, writers and supporters, we celebrate our fifth birthday

Two major biographies of Margaret Thatcher — one vivid and concise, the other magisterial — are essential reading for anyone who cares about the Iron Lady

A tribute to the leading Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and Standpoint contributor

The US's new Secretary of Defence should behave a little less like his Prussian near namesake and avoid hero-worshipping foreign military prowess

Banned by the Nazis, Jewish composer Arnold Schoenberg is one of a number of greats whose music outlives the political repression it suffered

Thanks to his leap of faith, this gloomy Dane has been neglected by the intelligentsia

Two new biographies of the Left's hero choose to ignore his dark side

'Margaret Thatcher rejoiced in her role as the charioteer of the nation'

'The notion that the three Abrahamix religions is wholly Western. Like "European", "Abrahamic" is at best platitudinous, at worst bogus'

Diarmaid MacCulloch's new book on the Christian Church is entitled Silence but it might've been better if he'd just kept quiet

Jovial, informal and compassionate, the new Pontiff has the qualities to restore faith in the Vatican and to promote women in the Church

Critics have wrongly disparaged the author of Gulliver's Travels, whom critics have disparaged as a misanthrope, a misogynist and a madman

The once derided, now unmentionable George W. Bush shames the Obama Administration in their respective attempts to promote peace in the Middle East

"I emerged from my spell of jury service with an enhanced respect for the law; any ruler who is above the law — as EU institutions are in effect — is a tyrant"