Populism is on the rise – at least, that’s what the mainstream media want us to believe. The latest sign of its growing popularity seems to be the result of the recent general election in Italy. However, with a bit of knowledge about Italian politics – and I really do mean just ‘a bit’ – there’s nothing unusual with the…

One of the most common defence strategies employed by people caught red-handed is to assert that their dubious activities did not breach the law of the land. Quite often, such claims prove to be correct: the activities, though dubious, were in conformity with the letter of the law. The main problem with the written law is that it is incapable…

‘The Good Old Days.’ That’s an expression that brings to mind lovely memories of the (usually distant) past when everything was better than it is now. It’s a verbal and mental remedy that’s employed to soothe the uncertainties and anxieties of the here-and-now as well as of the future. Yet in fact the nostalgia of ‘The Good Old Days’ is…

Last weekend I had quite an interesting conversation at the dinner table. The topic put forward for discussion by my guest was a rather pessimistic view of the world order, where a small number of big companies are on the point of taking over control of the entire global market, from commodities to the food chain. Governments will become servile…

Thanks to a stroke of extremely good luck combined with similarly extreme gesture of generosity, I’ve recently had the pleasure of watching an international football match from the stands. It was a welcome distraction that offered me the chance to have a mental rest from the very intensive and occasionally overwhelmingly busy time I’ve had ever since the beginning of…