How could the outcome of the US midterm elections ever affect an Oxford student? Well, the elections might affect the cost of your next Tesco or Sainsbury’s visit. This...
Oxford’s political party societies have a dual reputation. On one side of the coin, many boast long-standing histories and influential alumni, from Clement Attlee to David Cameron. Flip to the tail end, and you find a termly reality of boisterous drinking socials and inconclusive debates that are, in the words of Cherwell’s Stanley Smith, “more fixated with personality than party”. But does this reputation really disrupt the confines of what these political party societies are made for?
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.
"Self-improvement, the desire to be a better human being, has been the endeavour of philosophers since ancient times and is obviously integral to the human experience."
"It makes sense for even the most ardent of meat-eaters to want meat for themselves, but veg for everyone else. So, how can we encourage other people to eat less meat?"
"Both historical vignettes speak to the complexity of international relations and its continuity between past and present, between West and East. And as the last colonial governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten’s life serves to bridge these eras and civilisations."
Benedict XVI, certainly, did not possess the charisma or the pastoral attention of his successor, yet he laid the strong foundations for Francis’ pontificate.