Beacon of Liberty Amid Depression
Just over 70 years ago, a group of intellectuals met in Paris to revive liberalism. Their views have an eerie echo today
Politics, Ideas and the Arts
Prague: Diary
‘The post-1989 temptation in Prague has been two-fold. The first has been to legislate the totalitarian past out of existence, the second has been to copy the liberal West blindly at a
China’s Rural Nightmare
As the global economic crisis hits home, Beijing faces what the country’s rulers have always feared – a peasants’ revolt The waves from the subprime disaster have reached China, where the bottom
Caracas: Chávez’s Secret Fan Club
‘In his decade as president, Chávez has parlayed socioeconomic resentment into near-invincibility. But Venezuela’s decay, and the chinks in his armour, are there for all to see’ GETTY IMAGES And there it
From Baubles to Babel
The year the contemporary art juggernaut ground to a halt
A Norwegian Thatcher?
The leader of Norway's Progress Party, Siv Jensen, has a good chance of winning next year's election. In an interview with Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson, she explains her views; Bruce Bawer explains
The Terrorist Threat to Business
Luke Johnson, entrepreneur and business commentator, discusses terrorism's growing menace with historian Michael Burleigh and Standpoint editor Daniel Johnson
Crash Course
The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson
New York: Diary
‘New York feels much calmer than London about the financial crisis. It’s not clear if this attitude is a product of resignation or sheer denial, schadenfreude against wealthy financiers, or perhaps a
Is Capitalism Morally Bankrupt?
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