On the politics of innocence and the paradox of victimhood Everyone is created equal, deserving of equal rights and moral consideration. You, dear reader , believe that… right? Indeed, this seems a basic tenet of modern ethics; rejecting it would signal moral failure. But, in truth, we reject it all the time. In fact, there exists a constant clash between our ideal morals and the idealised images of who actually deserves moral consideration. Consider our conception of the ideal victim:...

The story of a game's rise, and fall, and rise Association Football is far and away the world’s most popular sport. Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay … and there are a lot of reasons to hate it: the players, the fans, and FIFA itself are all reasonable targets for contempt.  A typical ninety minutes of the ‘beautiful game’ is replete with players diving, abusing the referee, and putting on the most unbelievably unsporting theatrics. If you’re lucky, you might see headbutting, kung-fu,...

The nuances and hidden implications of the Remembrance Day symbol It’s November, and it seems one cannot go a minute without seeing a poppy. No, Britain hasn’t just become the world’s reddest and most boring garden centre. Instead, the nation is in the throes of a militarist stupor disguised as patriotism. That’s right: Britain is celebrating its favourite floral cult – the cult of the poppy — and everyone in even a remotely important public-facing role must participate. News anchors, TV...