The Latest Breaking News from John Stuart Mill

People often extol the virtue of open-mindedness, but can there be too much of a good thing?

Even during a cost of living crisis, with interest rates and inflation high, the average spending per person for Christmas 2023 in the UK is expected to reach as much as £974. Retailers, advertisers and a sense of tradition continue to encourage us towards ever greater levels of consumption.

The famed Harvard law professor tries to outline a set of principles liberals - broadly defined - can agree on. And it's a strong effort, even though I have a few caveats and reservations.

Identity plays a crucial role in life choices, liberty & resources. Chief Justice Chandrachud discussed the relationship between identity & liberty, & the role of the State in perpetuating social prejudices & hierarchies. He cited John Stuart Mill's book on Liberty & the idea of "Your right to swing your…

I just read and much enjoyed this new book, and highly recommend it: It's readable, factually detailed, and thoughtful in its analysis and recommendations. For a taste of the argument, see this Substack post. And here are a few of the jacket blurbs from others: This riveting book presents compelling…

In this series, The Week looks at the ideas and innovations that permanently changed the way we see the world. 

Letters: Stephen Locke, Lawson’s former private secretary, on how rewarding it was to work for him, and Margaret Beckett on his divisive legacy. Plus letters from Mark Hebert, Valerie Gidlow and Greg Quiery

Some influential studies show that the decision to have kids leads to greater suffering — at least for parents. A famous study by Nobel prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman and collaborators showed that working women experienced more negative, and less positive, emotions while caring for kids than while engaged in almost…

These measures are born of culture wars rather than the need to balance the freedom to disrupt with maintenance of order, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins

Happiness might seem like a noble goal – but striving for it can be counterproductive

Much has been written about how, with the passing of the Queen, we have lost one of our last continuing links to the second world war.