Reading for Battle
Battle Readings is a regularly updated compilation of articles, essays, and opinion pieces relevant to the themes of the Battle of Ideas.
Choose a theme from the listing on the left to narrow your search, or view all readings.
Politics & Ideology
The dimming of the light
With its revolutionary heat and rational cool, French thought once dazzled the world. Where did it all go wrong?
Sudhir Hazareesingh, Aeon, 22 September 2015
With its revolutionary heat and rational cool, French thought once dazzled the world. Where did it all go wrong?
Sudhir Hazareesingh, Aeon, 22 September 2015
Syriza Couldn’t End Austerity in Greece - Here’s Why Voters Reelected Them Anyway
Like a tragic hero, Alexis Tsipras acted out the country’s impasse—and the impasse of the left—dramatically, in real time, with real people’s lives.
Maria Margaronis, Nation, 21 September 2015
Like a tragic hero, Alexis Tsipras acted out the country’s impasse—and the impasse of the left—dramatically, in real time, with real people’s lives.
Maria Margaronis, Nation, 21 September 2015
The Assassination of Jeremy Corbyn - Operation Ridicule
Tom Colclough , T H O M S I E blog, 21 September 2015
Tom Colclough , T H O M S I E blog, 21 September 2015
Are Western Values Losing Their Sway?
Are Western values, essentially Judeo-Christian ones, truly universal? The history of the last decade is a bracing antidote to such easy thinking.
Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 12 September 2015
Are Western values, essentially Judeo-Christian ones, truly universal? The history of the last decade is a bracing antidote to such easy thinking.
Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 12 September 2015
Don’t make a moral melodrama out of the migrant crisis
There should be as few restrictions as possible on the movement of people across borders, but the current outburst of political compassion is not as healthy as some imagine.
Brendan O'Neill, spiked, 7 September 2015
There should be as few restrictions as possible on the movement of people across borders, but the current outburst of political compassion is not as healthy as some imagine.
Brendan O'Neill, spiked, 7 September 2015
The Coddling of the American Mind
In the name of emotional well-being, college students are increasingly demanding protection from words and ideas they don’t like. Here’s why that’s disastrous for education—and mental health.
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Atlantic, September 2015
In the name of emotional well-being, college students are increasingly demanding protection from words and ideas they don’t like. Here’s why that’s disastrous for education—and mental health.
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Atlantic, September 2015
Gentrification is good for neighbourhoods
Debating Matters' acclaimed Topic Guides place debates in a social context
Anwar Oduro-Kwarteng, Debating Matters, 28 August 2015
Debating Matters' acclaimed Topic Guides place debates in a social context
Anwar Oduro-Kwarteng, Debating Matters, 28 August 2015
A secular society should not prevent people from acting on their religious beliefs
Debating Matters' acclaimed Topic Guides place debates in a social context
Nadia Butt, Debating Matters, 28 August 2015
Debating Matters' acclaimed Topic Guides place debates in a social context
Nadia Butt, Debating Matters, 28 August 2015
Emmanuel Todd: the French thinker who won't toe the Charlie Hebdo line
After the horror of the Paris attacks, everyone agreed that the ensuing street rallies were the best of France. Then a leftwing historian called them a totalitarian sham – and his critique of ‘zombie Catholicism’ has outraged a nation
Angelique Chrisafis, Guardian, 28 August 2015
After the horror of the Paris attacks, everyone agreed that the ensuing street rallies were the best of France. Then a leftwing historian called them a totalitarian sham – and his critique of ‘zombie Catholicism’ has outraged a nation
Angelique Chrisafis, Guardian, 28 August 2015
Riots and revolutions: Europe's young radicals?
"The Battle of Ideas is an entertaining and provocative think-jam. At the 2012 event, we didn’t quite solve the world’s problems, but we certainly got part of the way there"
Christine Murray, editor, Architects' Journal
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