The end of the liberal delusion
At the turn of the century, Western leaders claimed progress was inevitable. Yet events have contradicted this “faith”.
ByThe Magazine
In this week’s issue
The New Tragic Age
Letter of the week: Conservatism’s DNA
Write to letters@newstatesman.co.uk to have your thoughts voiced in the New Statesman magazine.
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Rod Stewart has become an unlikely hero on the left – and it’s all thanks to Carolyn Harris
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
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Ron DeSantis’s campaign is already lost
The governor of Florida wanted to be seen as “Trump without the chaos” – but is more “Trump without…
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Reuniting Everything But the Girl, pop culture’s high priest, and perfecting the art of the selfie
Now our album is being released, I feel like I could cry at any moment – while reaching for…
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How Judy Blume became a lightning rod in the culture wars
The frank explorations of puberty and sexuality that made her books radical in the 1970s are newly controversial in…
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What Diane Abbott gets wrong about racism
The Labour MP’s response to my column showed a stunning lack of judgement and awareness.
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Europe’s centrist parties let industry rot and society fragment. Now they’re being punished for it
In Italy, France, Germany and Britain, the flight of voters to the political extremes can be mapped on to…
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Sporting protest terrifies those in power because history tends to prove it right
Campaigners recognise that sport can smash through the fourth wall in a way politics and debate never can.
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The New Age of Tragedy
Great-power rivalry, resource scarcity and the crumbling of the liberal rules-based order.
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John McDonnell’s last stand
The former shadow chancellor is now the only leading Corbynite with the Labour whip. Can he save the party’s…
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The death of local government
Westminster has been systematically stripping councils of power, funding and stature for decades. As a result, our local politics…
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Do we really need Rawls?
Daniel Chandler’s much-hyped new book says that, in an age of polarisation, the American philosopher offers a blueprint for…
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Is a feminist marriage possible?
A new history takes in everything from ancient Roman weddings to Don’t Tell the Bride to ask: can we…
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The dark heart of the Tory Party
By reckoning with Britain’s nasty side, the Conservatives have claimed its soul.
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From Michael Magee to Susan Owens: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Audrey Golden’s oral history of women at Factory Records and A Flat Place by Noreen Masud.
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An idiot’s guide to cancel culture
What do we do with the art of monstrous men? Claire Dederer’s flimsy, simplistic new book has no answers.
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The women of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
How the Rossettis and their circle turned the gendered conflicts of Victorian society into art.
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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a quintessentially British road trip
The screen adaptation of the bestselling book inevitably (and ideally) stars Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton – but plods…
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ITV’s Malpractice is preposterous – but so gripping, you won’t mind
This series from the makers of Line of Duty is set in a Yorkshire hospital – and follows drugs,…
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Jon Ronson’s The Debutante and the myth of the “lone wolf” terrorist
This Audible podcast series delves into the white-supremacist world of Timothy McVeigh and asks: could the Oklahoma City bombing…
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In football even the lowliest clubs have their time in the sun, however brief
In August 1974, Carlisle United were top of the First Division. Fans still reminisce over when their lads stuffed…
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A fancy dinner at the home of cricket is the stuff of dreams – and nightmares
When a guest arrived in black tie I thought, “Oh dear, someone has overdressed for the occasion.” Then the…
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This England: Driven apart
This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain…
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Subscriber of the week: James Simister
Write to zuzanna.lachendro@newstatesman.co.uk if you would like to feature as subscriber of the week.
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Sam Fowles: “So much of public debate is disconnected from the truth”
The barrister on Indiana Jones, David Guetta and why you should always go to the bathroom before going into…
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