CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE ANTHONYBARNETTmade England’s Henry Moore for Channel 4 prior to directing Charter 88. His latest book is This Time: Our Constitutional Revolution (Vintage) JEREMYCLARKEis a freelance writer JASONCOWLEYwrites for The Times and is literary editor of the New Statesman DIANECOYLEis the author of The Weightless World (Capstone) LOUISDEBERNIERES is a novelist ALAINDEBOTTONis the author of How Proust Can Change Tour Life (Picador) CHARLESDRAZINis the author of The Finest Tears:The British Cinema of the 1940s (Andre Deutsch) ACGRAYLINGis a fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford, and a lecturer in philosophy at Birkbeck College BEAGREENis a magistrate living in London HERBGREERis a writer based in Manchester STEPHENHAWKINGis Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge PETERHITCHENSis assistant editor of the Daily Express JOHN HOOPERis southern Europe correspondent for the Guardian/Observer and author of The New Spaniards (Penguin) DOUGLASHURDis the author of The Shape of Ice (Little, Brown) GEORGEKEREVANis a documentary film-maker and the SNP’s spokesman on the environment ANGELALAMBERTis a journalist and author of Kiss and Kin (Bantam) ROBERTLEICHTwrites for Die Zeit ANDREWMARRis a columnist on the Observer and the Express, and author of The Battle for Scotland (Penguin) HCGMATTHEWis editor of the New Dictionary of National Biography (OUP) PHILIPNOBILEis a writer based in the US. He once studied for the Catholic priesthood FREDERICRAPHAELis a novelist MATTHEWreisz is editor of the Jewish Quarterly MATTRIDLEYis a science writer PETERWAYNEis at Blakenhurst prison GEOFFREYWHEATCROFTis a writer ALISONWOLFis the author of CompetenceBased Assessment (Open University Press)
2 PROSPECT August/September 1998
contents
Issue thirty-three August/September 1998
OPINIONS 10 Oxford blues PETER HITCHENS The ancient city isajewel toobright for itshideousmodern settings. 1 1 Where is Diana? PHILIPNOBILE asksanindiscreet theological question: isDiana in heavenor hell? 12 The training illusion ALISONWOLF Pumping money into education will not bring economicgrowth. Nor will business-ledvocational training.
14 Endstation Europa DOUGLASHURD The time hascometo spellout where Europe shouldstop.
PORTRAIT Jason Cowley talks to JG Ballard about sex, technology and the 60s
16 Learning from Gladstone HCGMATTHEW The party of progress needs enemies. Gladstone knew that; doesTony Blair?
18 Debate: Is Home Rule enough? GEORGE KEREVANANDANDREWMARR Will Scottishdevolution leadto independence?What’sthepoint of preserving the British stateintheEU?
ESSAYS 27 Whatever happened to the German left? ROBERT LEICHT The Social Democrats are preparing toreturn to power after 16yearsin opposition. But they haveadivided leadership andmust competewith two other parties of the left.
32 What is academia for? ALAINDEBOTTON If the heroicageof scholarship is past,what are the humanities for? To teachushow tolive.
For much of his career, JG Ballard has been shunned by the literary world. But is his obsession with car crashes, sex and death, gratuitously unsettling, or does it amount to areal quest to capture the spirit of his times? PAGE so
An impostor.Page 32
38 Italian futures JOHN HOOPER Romano Prodi hasembarked onaprocessof liberalisation, but is Italy really changing?
