History – Blogs Don't Burn

May 21, 2024

Our universities are failing to tackle student antisemitism

This OpEd was published in CapX on 21st May, 2024

Earlier this month, university leaders from around the country were summoned to Downing Street to discuss the recent explosion of antisemitism on UK campuses, which has been so extreme that the Community Security Trust (CST) labelled it a ‘watershed moment for antisemitism in the UK’.

Unfortunately, despite strong statements from the government that this newest revival of the world’s oldest hatred will not be tolerated, many of the solutions being proposed lack real teeth. If policymakers really want to make an impact on campus antisemitism, they should start naming and shaming those universities which are doing the least to address the crisis.

May 8, 2024May 12, 2024

It’s time for the UK to acknowledge the Armenian genocide

This OpEd was originally published in Reaction on 8th May, 2024

On 24th April, Armenians around the world gathered to observe Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. At local churches and memorials, they commemorated the 1.5 million Armenians who were systematically killed by Ottoman authorities between 1915 and 1923; to this day one of the worst massacres in human history.

Tragically, their pain will be compounded by the ongoing denial and obfuscation of governments across the world, many of whom still refuse to acknowledge it even took place. The UK, for example, has never formally acknowledged the Armenian genocide — and only 33 countries around the world have. Sadly, even the Armenian government itself is beginning to buckle to international pressure, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan telling his people to “overcome [their] trauma.”

November 28, 2023November 28, 2023

‘Ghastly Marionettes with Human Faces’ – Hannah Arendt on Totalitarianism

Background: This essay was written in 2019 as part of a master’s degree. It has since been updated to reflect my evolving thoughts on the horrors of totalitarianism, and indeed human evil in general. Whilst the conclusions below are my own, this should be seen more as an illustration of Hannah Arendt’s writings on totalitarianism in the 20th century.

This essay will outline Hannah Arendt’s account of the unprecedented evil of totalitarianism in the 20^th century, with specific focus on the regimes of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. This will be done first by outlining the distinctive nature of totalitarianism, and why it cannot be captured under the conventional categories of moral and political thought. Next, I will unpack the comparison that Arendt makes between common sense and ideological ‘supersense’, which will lead into an attempt to distinguish the radical evil of totalitarianism from more conventional forms of evil.

April 18, 2023

Chronological Snobbery: Present-Elitism and the Teen Age

In The Case Against the Sexual Revolution (2022), feminist author Louise Perry uses a phrase which captures one of the governing spirits of our age: ‘chronological snobbery’. Coined by C.S. Lewis, this term refers to the human tendency to uncritically accept the cultural and intellectual trends of the present, whilst rejecting as ‘outdated’ anything which came before some arbitrary cut-off point.

In essence, this is the ethos of the rebellious teenager run amok: a fiery urge to cast off the stifling rules and mores of the fuddy-duddy elders. This powerful, almost primordial force is a common feature of adolescence, as indeed it should be. Rebellion against authority is a healthy part of our ungainly slouch towards adulthood, provided this Life of Brian-esque chorus of ‘I am an individual’ is artfully managed by society.

August 25, 2020September 20, 2022

Learning the Lessons of the Holocaust: Towards a More Sophisticated Conception of Evil

Background: This academic essay was written in late 2020 as the final project of a masters degree. In it, I delve into the nature of human evil by engaging in a detailed study of a historical atrocity: Nazism and the Holocaust. Through this horrifying case study, I aimed to shed light not only on that event, but also on the nature of human evil on a more universal level. The theory I put forward in the final chapter – ‘Towards a New Conception of Evil’ is intended to have contemporary relevance to our understanding of evil in the modern world, and so will hopefully also be of value to readers of this blog.

Indeed, deepening our understanding of evil (and in particular mass evil practiced by the State) has only become more relevant in recent months, given the the woefully under-reported events currently developing in China`s Xinjiang Province. As these words are being written, millions of Uighur Muslims have been incarcerated by the Chinese State and have been forced to endure intense labor, ideological ‘re-education’, and, if some reports are to be believed, sterilization. What we may well be witnessing are the stirrings of yet another genocide, and so now more than ever it is necessary to look back and reflect on the horrors of the 20th century. After all, if we fail to fully imbibe the lessons of history, we may well be left mute and uncomprehending when the next Holocaust comes knocking.

February 9, 2020March 2, 2021

Short Story: ‘A Dance of Two’

An adaption of Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett’s first meeting in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

Mr Bingley: Once again I am blown away by the wonderous joys that life can bestow when one revels in good company! Every young lady and noble man I have met this evening has surpassed my wildest expectations in beauty, good humour and learning! I must control the urge to let excitement overtake my refined demeanour, yet dancing remains a superb outlet to express such passionate good mood! If only Darcy could experience the same highs as I do in company such as this, or indeed in any company. He seems content to live his life as

Mrs Bennet: the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world! Lurking like a phantom on the fringes of the hall, eyeing everyone with poorly masked disdain. A gentleman indeed! He certainly has nothing in the way of looks. Not like that charming Mr Bingley. Rich, well-bred and as handsome as can be ever imagined! He is the stark opposite of Mr Darcy, whom I despised the moment I set eyes on him! As for Mr Darcy’s rumoured wealth, well, let’s just say I have heard mutterings from numerous reputable sources that denounce such claims as outrageous and unfounded drivel! Still, even if the man were as moneyed as the King, I would not have him consorting with my beautiful Jane, or Elizabeth, or even Mary! Wealth and aristocratic airs don’t impress me! Lord knows even lumpy Mr Lucas would be better suited for my girls than that miserable man! Look how Lizzy sits there with no offer of dance from Mr Darcy. The poor girl is abandoned in cruel isolation, putting on a brave smile to mask her

January 8, 2020January 9, 2021

The Philosopher-King of Rome

A review of Donald Robertson’s How to Think Like a Roman Emperor (2019).

This intriguing new book by Donald Robertson centers around the life of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD); a man for whom philosophy was no mere academic affair. Elevated to the head of the most powerful Empire in the world, despite his own reluctance to inherit the Imperial throne, Marcus would go on to become one of the most celebrated political leaders in history. The admiration still directed towards the reign of Marcus Aurelius is an especially impressive feat given the state of chaos that Rome would lapse into soon after his ascension.

In the North, war would break out across the frontier of the Empire. The thin line separating the territories of Rome from the barbarous lands of Germania strained under pressure from the Germanic hordes now bearing down on it from above. In Egypt, a powerful former ally would rebel against Marcus with all the power of the East at his back, nearly triggering a civil war. Meanwhile, across the towns and cities of the Roman heartlands, the Antonine Plague would spread. Brought back by returning soldiers from the Near East, this vicious disease would claim the lives of thousands of Romans both rich and poor alike, eventually killing Marcus himself whilst stationed by the frosty waters of the River Danube. The Emperor’s personal life would prove just as tumultuous. In addition to the death of his cousin-wife, the Empress Faustina, Marcus would have to cope with the loss of all but five of his thirteen children. His only surviving son and unruly heir Commodus would grow to become a murderous despot, eventually being assassinated by his political rivals. Suffice to say, Marcus’ was not a peaceful reign.

November 16, 2019March 31, 2020

Into the Gulag: The Prisons of Soviet Russia

This new video, made for Blogs Don’t Burn by filmmaker James Arnold, tells the story of the Soviet Gulags; a vast and complex network of prisons and forced-labor camps which stretched across the USSR throughout much of its history. Started under Lenin and hugely expanding under Stalin, this system would swallow up millions of lives for good. Many prisoners were incarcerated for decades, solely for the crime of thinking and writing against the regime.

This video is dedicated to the prisoners of the Gulag, the dissenters who spoke out for them, and for all the other victims of the 20^th century whose names have been lost to history.