What unites all fundamentalists is an over-riding commitment to a sacred text, through which all of truth must be interpreted. The sacred text cannot be questioned; only obeyed.    Nigel Pocock   In the past the word ‘fanatick’ (sic) meant an ‘enthusiast’ and it usually seems to have had an […]

People who say that their over-riding priority is their self-esteem, are the opposite. They are insecure, sometimes to the extent that they will use any methods, even illegal ones, to enhance what they believe is necessary to wipe out their poor self-image.   Nigel Pocock   Do people really love […]

But character changes, as action informs attitudes (and vice-versa) and a prosocial culture and consequent character is emergent.   Nigel Pocock . In a western world premised on a culture of denial of differences, is a concept of ‘national character’ meaningful? Or a basis for harmful stereotyping? Can we learn […]

Democracy weakens tyranny, and tyranny perpetuates disasters, by choking the cries of the poor and oppressed. All disasters are essentially man-made. The poor are always hit by far the worst.   Nigel Pocock   It might seem surprising to my readers to make the assertion that earthquakes and other ‘chance’ […]

Far from being a society of mature people, western culture encourages mass narcissism and infantilisation, in ever-increasing numbers.   Nigel Pocock   What is ‘community’? It is a noun, and has a verbal form, ‘communication’. This gives us the essence of a ‘community’, for it is nothing more or less […]