INVENIRE

The notion that governments rely on the tax revenues derived from individuals and businesses and thus cannot simply “print more money” to solve budgetary issues is orthodox in popular thinking. The idea is so pervasive that proposals for new tax cuts or new public services programmes are invariably met with demands that they are funded by tax increases or spending decreases elsewhere. In the United Kingdom, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has become the de facto inspector of all fiscal plans proposed by political parties; their unfavourable assessment of the September 2022 mini-budget brought about the lack of market confidence that precipitated the downfall of the Truss ministry. [i] Bidding to seem fiscally responsible in this way, governments frequently prioritise debt reduction, either via expenditure-cutting austerity measures, as initiated by the UK Coalition government of 2010-2015, [ii] or revenue-raising tax increases. Politicians do not accept the idea that we can rely on ...

The past twelve months have been disastrous for the Conservative Party. Besieged by scandals, the Johnson ministry premiership was fatally felled by the Pincher scandals of July 2022. The ensuing summer offered the Conservatives a purgatorial slate; some commentators hailed the advent of  "unapologetic, liberal Toryism" a la Truss and Kwarteng. The self-described Thatcherite Liz Truss bid to embody her ideology's namesake with   an ambitious Growth Plan. Unlike her political role model, however, Liz Truss lacked the strength of will necessary to abstain from the U-turn. Instead of bracing the maelstrom of negative press and public backlash, Truss turned on her Chancellor, reversed The Growth Plan and resigned just forty-nine days into her premiership. Nevertheless, the Truss premiership did not deal unmitigated damage to the Conservative Party. In representative democracies like the United Kingdom, the parliamentary strength of a political party is twofold: its popularit...

 Following the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte could do nothing but reminisce. Exiled to Saint Helena, he spent the twilight of his life imprisoned by the British. An ocean away from the land-roaming and strategising of a few years prior, Bonaparte was relegated to comparatively dull pastimes. He spent the hours complaining (probably justly) about his living conditions at Longwood House; playing cards with the small band of Frenchmen permitted to travel with him and, most productively, dictating memories of his storied career to them. At one point, Napoleon Bonaparte had ruled everything between the Atlantic and the Niemen; no activity would prove an adequate substitute, but writing his memoirs had to suffice. Napoleon's tales were duly recorded and published by Emmanuel, comte de Las Cases, as  Le Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène. With a preface that refers to Napoleon Bonaparte as "the most extraordinary man that ever existed", the writer's goal - glorifying Napoleo...

The study of imperialism speaks to the reality that great man theory, in its emphasis on the talents and volitions of a handful of individuals in determining events, is the foremost historiography. National borders are shaped by individuals and small groups of particular note, not the people at large. This strikes in contradiction to history from below, which considers ordinary people in societies to be the crucial factor for the development of historical events. In applying history from below to events, historians tend to favour social histories to biographies as historical accounts. While history from below is useful in reframing our reaction to historical events, great man historiography is far more useful when answering questions like, “Why was this empire able to acquire this territory?” and “Why was this state unable to maintain control of these territories?” It is difficult to support the notion that the ordinary people in the nations of Europe drove the division of Africa. The ...

Experts tell us that politics is more polarised than ever, with the politics of voters diverging from each other at unprecedented rates. Given this, you might expect politicians in democratic countries to profess their adherence to various ideologies. The opposite is true. On the Continent, the German Green Party  Die Grünen  have broken from ideological convention, campaigning for arms to be sent to support the Ukrainian war effort against Russia. At 10 Downing Street, Rishi Sunak has pledged "robust pragmatism"  concerning Britain's adversaries  and we cannot forget that nearly every government in the world opted for state-sanctioned lockdowns and demand-side economics in response to COVID-19, regardless of previously declared convictions.  Being principled is unfashionable amongst those who aspire to govern; ideologues have been consigned to the fringes of parliamentary politics.   Two politicians considered pragmatists within their parties/Picture ...

Fine art, while now practised regardless of class, is a construct derived from the abundance of time and wealth enjoyed by the most privileged in historical societies. Reduced economic inequality has advanced the capacity of members of non-Leisure classes to produce art, but the work of the most affluent is ubiquitous in the fine art canon. The term “Leisure Class”, coined by economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen, refers to the strata of society who do not undertake industrial work because of their wealth and social status. Veblen writes “the occupations of the [Leisure] class have the common… characteristic of being non-industrial.” He defines “industry” as “whatever has to do directly with the everyday work of getting a livelihood”. Given this, “the Leisure Class” can be outlined as “those whose occupations do not improve the physical living conditions of others.” Writing concerning feudal European society, Veblen mentions priesthood, sport, politics and the military as non-ind...

 The 1945 defeat of the Axis powers, the 2012 Olympic Games and the recent Platinum Jubilee are three events considered to have contributed to national pride in Britain. Given the incessant flag-waving and anthem-singing at all three of these events, the idea that the events alone are the most significant in inducing national pride is understandable. However, the cited reasons for national pride and the approach of governments to history education demonstrate that the historian has the greatest role of all in influencing the level of patriotism in a country. In forming narratives of the past, the historian is more influential in adding to or detracting from national pride than any sportsman, statesman or soldier.  The most apparent demonstrators that historians (and their narratives) are relevant in impacting patriotism are the most oft-cited reasons for national pride. Even beyond explicit statements like "I love my nation because of its history", we find that other professe...