Gossiping is an innately human pastime, existing long before our generation, and a beloved form of social interaction that teeters on the boundary between harmless fun and cruelty. Yes,...
In October 2024, during the Oxford Chancellor election, one of my responsibilities as Deputy Editor of Profiles at Cherwell was to interview Peter (then Lord) Mandelson, who was among the five frontrunners contesting the election.
"Getting excited about £2 cocktails and feeling the tangible benefits from foreign spending power came with layers of guilt as we watched many of our Argentine friends and acquaintances live the full consequences of the country’s financial struggles."
This dynamic is, I would suggest, characteristic of our basic human lack of self-reflection and our instinctive willingness to accept double standards for ourselves and public figures respectively.