Contents

cover story

34 Citizenship first

the case for bringing back compulsory national service. james crabtree � frank field

opinions

18 Jobs, not shopping Why we need protectionism. ha-joon chang 19 The republic of entertainment Britain’s culture wars. toby mundy 20 A less developed crunch What about the poor? paul collier 21 Google for tunes the joys of spotify. joy lo dico 22 Why are Asians so angry? the muslim mobilisation. sara wajid 22 Female hysteresis Women and the bust. tim leunig 23 The second chance saving afghanistan. ashraf ghani

Features

30 Interview: Steve Jones God, Darwin and the end of evolution. john cornwell 40 Colonel Iron and the charge of the knights how the British finally won in Basra. anthony king 44 What is a banker worth? can limits on bankers’ pay last? michael prest 48 Philosophy’s great experiment the x-philes. david edmonds � nigel warburton 52 Ignatief: an intellectual in politics From Late Show presenter to likely prime minister. david herman

58 Anarchy in the Ukraine the Ukrainian way of driving. julian evans

science & technology

64 Remote control warriors the new drone army. charlie edwards 65 The ecstasy and the agony Don’t ban ecstasy because it’s fun. elizabeth pisani 66 Cut-and-paste writing how software makes my books better. steven johnson 67 Post-capitalist utopia the world’s most exclusive conference. jaron lanier

columns

10 Political notes the post-Brown era. richard reeves 17 The life & opinions of Julian Gough my relative the swindler. 25 Washington watch obama’s first mess. renegade 26 Brussels diary sarkozy can’t do right. manneken pis 29 Crisis watch albanian pyramids. jonathan ford 33 China café the atomic Bombshells. mark kitto 61 Sporting life Golf in the Gulf. david goldblatt 63 Matters of taste Dirty martinis. alex renton 68 Lab report What killed the bees? philip ball 88 The prisoner Lowdham strange. car hills 96 Confessions Dodgy book deals. david gaffney

arts & books

71 Oh, tell me the truth about beauty roger scruton’s account of aesthetics is lucid and graceful, but limited. jonathan r�e 72 Israel’s ageing children amos oz’s latest book cuts against everything he believes in. jonathan tel 74 Cultural notebook sod’s law and toast. sam leith 75 The death and life of Saddam’s soldier Iraqis tell their own stories. neal ascherson 76 Showing Hollywood how it’s done Why america loves British director tom hooper. hermione eyre 77 Private view the tate’s triennial. ben lewis 78 Performance notes chamber music. martin kettle 79 Where are all the cyborgs? What I learned from writing a science fiction novel. toby litt 81 Widescreen Indian cinema rising. mark cousins

Fiction

82 Scraping Tool, Origin Unknown a graphical short story. james meek

regulars

6 Letters 8 Prospect recommends 12 Diary 93 Enigmas & puzzles 94 The generalist 95 The Prospect list

next issue, published 26th march 2009

the fight to save australia’s threatened wildlife tim winton Why have economists escaped blame for the credit crunch? anatole kaletsky the legacy of the tiananmen protests, 20 years on diane wei lang

march 2009 · prospect · 5