The Enlightenment’s Gravediggers

Zohran Mamdani’s brand of socialism appeals to the luxury beliefs of New York’s middle classes. If his preferred policies are implemented, New Yorkers will suffer—and the poorest of them will be most impacted.

The Israel-Iran conflict may already be over, following the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities. But the future is deeply uncertain. By Benny Morris.

The struggle between the two middle classes is not just a matter of wealth and power, but also of retaining the social basis for democracy itself.

When Westerners hate the West.

Israel faces two major challenges: destroying the Iranian enrichment plant at Fordow and locating and eliminating the country’s stockpile of enriched uranium. For the first, it will need US assistance. By Benny Morris.

The Israeli attack on Iran is in line with its longstanding policy of never allowing its neighbouring enemies to acquire nuclear weapons. But it is also the latest episode in the wider war against Israel launched in late 2023 by Iran’s proxies. Written by Benny Morris.

For at least some, globalising the Intifada means exporting the tactics of Hamas to the West, thus threatening peaceful liberal societies everywhere.

The institution of monogamy in Classical Greece may have led to a host of phenomena that shaped the modern West: from individualism and abstract thinking to liberalism and democracy. Written by ⁠James Kierstead.⁠

The Trump administration’s decision to start revoking the visas of international students is vindictive, petty, and counterproductive.

Why are liberal democracies facing a crisis of meaning? In this video, we explore Roger Partridge’s powerful defence of Karl Popper’s Open Society—a vision of liberalism based on freedom, tolerance, and civic engagement. As figures like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Jordan Peterson, and Peter Thiel call for a return to religion and nationalism, many argue that the West has lost its moral and spiritual foundation. But is abandoning liberalism the answer? Partridge argues that the real problem isn’t liberalism itself—but our failure to maintain the institutions and civic culture that once gave it meaning.