Political philosophy – Dr Oliver Hartwich

A Marxist critique of the lifestyle left

There is only one regret I had after reading Sahra Wagenknecht’s new book. Despite many furious disagreements with many of her views, I wished it was available in English. It would shake up and enrich our political debates in a way no German communists since Marx and Engels have done. [...]

The politics of legal sausage-making

close up photo of skewered sausage on tray

The business of legislation is murky. As the saying goes, “Laws are like sausages: Better not to see them being made”. [...]

Working group enlightenment

New Zealand’s post-modern politicians have moved past the old power philosophy and found nirvana in a place where nothing ever happens and the rulers remain untouchable in power. [...]

The West in a new cold war with itself

This new Cold War could be decided not by Beijing’s victory but by the West’s suicide. [...]

30 Years after the Wall: Socialism 2.0

I am celebrating the anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Even though it is unnerving to realise that the 30 years that have passed have turned me into a political dinosaur at 44. [...]

Rediscovering the West

When future historians look back at our world today, they will regard it as the end of an era. Over the space of just a few years, the fundamentals of our political and economic order have all changed. [...]

Speak your mind

We need less nice and more candour. It is pointless holding conferences where delegates censor their own presentations without being told to. [...]

The open society needs open minds

Let us celebrate the relative civility of our domestic politics and defend robust and constructive debates. [...]

Disagree more constructively

Haidt is one of America’s most important and innovative thinkers, contributing regularly to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. With his plea for people to disagree more constructively with one another, he has an important message for New Zealand as we deal with our own divisions. [...]

Dissecting the 21st century’s Great Untruths

It had to take an evolutionary psychologist and a lawyer to dissect (some of) the craziness of modern society and polity. Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s new book The Coddling of the American Mind is required reading for anyone wishing to understand 21st century politics, not just in the US but globally. [...]