INVENIRE

In enshrining values such as the consent of the governed, the American constitution is commonly associated with the Whig political tradition. Despite the fact that the American constitution owes more to the ideas of Whigs than those of royalists, the Constitution’s repeated insurance against treason and its framework for the foundation of a strong federal government indicates its mixed ideological heritage. Moreover, the Constitution’s blend of Whig and royalist ideas, girded by its own historical context, demonstrates that these political philosophies are not diametrically opposed; the Whigs of the 17th and 18th centuries supported the notion of monarchy, albeit a constitutional one. While the Constitution draws much from whiggish thought, evidence of royalist inspiration abounds. The American constitution’s emphasis on the consent of the governed is drawn from whiggism. The idea that “the People of the United States” are the sole arbiters of government legitimacy recurs. The fact tha...

If good politics unifies, rather than divides, populations; achieves political goals and reflects the will of the electorate, politics would be better without political parties. Partisan politics stokes unproductive national division, reduces the quality of political discussion, hinders political progress and allows for the corruption of the government by corporate and foreign - non-constituent - agents. Nevertheless, the weight of criticism of partisan politics has not yet resulted in detaching politics from partisanship. Citizens of liberal democracies live in a state of “partisan realism”; to appropriate Mark Fisher’s description of capitalism, “it is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to political parties.”. The fact that only ten sovereign states lack political parties - seven of which are absolute monarchies - justifies the belief that parties are the gatekeepers to politics and immutable components of democracies. Therefore, in addition to outlining how political ...

The solution to our economic woes lies in unleashing our building potential The year is 1979. Beholden to trade union leaders, strikes have left Britain in disarray. In the wake of the Winter of Discontent, descriptions of Britain as the "sick man of Europe" seemed apt; such a label is not out of place today. Like James Callaghan was then, much of our political class seems to be on the beach in the Bahamas, with their heads in the sand while catastrophe awaits. Cures to our malaise are available, but the anti-growth coalition that dominates Britain refuses to enact any policy that capitalises on the resources — human or physical — available to us. Even among information economies, Britain is blessed with its array of world-class higher education institutions. Despite this, no considered effort has been made in converting this abundance of talent into economic prosperity. None of the world's ten largest biomedical companies are British. World-class universities are the key...