Patrick West

#Habermas imagined a society where ideas competed through "the non-coercive force of the better argument." An ideal worth striving for, or an impossible dream? @patrickxwest on one of the world's most influential contemporary philosophers: philosophynow.org/issues/174…

It is commonly understood that when dealing with those who wish to harm or exploit you, that you never show weakness. This basic survival strategy is grasped by those who live closer to nature, who counsel that displaying fear to angry or predatory animals can be fatal. It was also a principle inherent to the political philosophy of Niccolo Machiavelli, who took humans to be animals similarly governed by amoral, self-interested instincts, creatures who were 'pitiless in the face of weakness, implacable before blunders.' Machiavelli used to be mandatory reading for aspiring politicians who needed to know that in order to climb the greasy pole, much cunning, craftiness and dissimulation was required. ✍️ Patrick West Article | spectator.com/article/andy-b… | @patrickxwest

Their analysis of 74 studies from across the world concluded that three- to twelve-year-olds permitted to do ‘thrilling and exiting’ activities, such as ride a bike fast downhill or climb a tree, or are even just allowed to walk to school unsupervised, become fitter and more independent than their mollycoddled equivalents who are walled up at home, glued to their screens. Yet long before academics told us of the benefits of taking risks, and self-help books advised us to confront life's necessary challenges, Friedrich Nietzsche was exhorting his readers to overcome others and themselves. ✍️ Patrick West Article | spectator.com/article/nietzs… | @patrickxwest

Patrick Stewart was a working-class Yorkshireman who learned to sound like the English establishment. In doing so, he became a better version of it. buff.ly/zqAuEHJ

Prime Ministers in the modern era have invariably tried to prove that they are men of the people. It's one reason why the likes of Tony Blair, Liz Truss and now Andy Burnham have used the familiar form of their Christian name in the way Harry Macmillan or Dave Lloyd George never did. But what marks out Andy Burnham as novel is that he doesn’t merely flaunt his common touch as part of a broader, cynical strategy to garner electoral support. His earthly demeanour – albeit laboured – actually seems to convey authenticity. He really does want to be liked. When Tony Blair appeared on popular television shows such as Des O'Connor Tonight, where his accent opportunely shifted to a cringeworthy glottal-stopping Estuary English, most of us just groaned, so accustomed had we become to the wily ways of this superficial man, a phoney whose time in power is remembered today for introducing 'spin' to the political lexicon. ✍️ Patrick West Article | spectator.com/article/andy-b… | @patrickxwest