CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

JOHN ADAMS is p ro fe s s o r o f g e o g r a p h y a t U n iv e r s i ty C o l le g e L o n d o n

JOHN ARMSTRONG is d i r e c to r o f th e A e s th e t ic s P r o g r am m e a t th e S c h o o l o f A d v a n c e d S tu d y , U n iv e r s i ty o f L o n d o n

STEPHEN BROWN is a f r e e la n c e w r i t e r l iv in g in L o n d o n

LESLEY CHAMBERLAIN is th e e d i to r o f From Stroganoff to Strudel (S o u th w a te r )

JASON COWLEY is b o o k s e d i to r a t th e New Statesman

CARLO GEBLER is th e a u th o r o f W9 & Other Lives (M a r io n B o y a rs )

CAR HILLS is a w r i t e r l iv in g in L o n d o n

GERALD HOLTHAM is g lo b a l s t r a t e g i s t a t N o rw ic h U n io n I n v e s tm e n t s M a n a g e r a n d is f o rm e r h e a d o f th e IP P R

CHRISTOPHER HOPE is th e a u t h o r o f Signs o f the Heart (M a cm i l la n )

KATHRYN HUGHES is th e a u t h o r o f George Eliot: the hast Victorian (F o u r th E s t a t e ) . S h e is c u r r e n t l y w r i t in g a b io g r a p h y o f M r s B e e to n

STUART JEFFRIES is a w r i t e r a n d e d i to r a t th e Guardian

MICHAEL MACLAY w a s s p e c ia l a d v i s e r to D o u g l a s H u r d a t th e F o r e ig n O f f ic e a n d to C a r l B i ld t in B o sn ia

GRAHAM MATHER is p r e s id e n t o f th e E u r o p e a n P o l ic y F o ru m

MICHAEL MERTES w o rk s fo r th e m o d e r a t e - c o n s e rv a t iv e w e e k ly n e w s p a p e r Rheinischer Merkur

JULIA NEUBERGER is c h i e f e x e c u t iv e o f th e K in g ’s F u n d

EDWARD PEARCE is a u t h o r o f Lines o f Most Resistance (L i t t le , B row n )

RICHARD REEVES is d i r e c to r o f F u tu r e s a t th e I n d u s t r i a l S o c ie ty

DAVID ROSE w o rk s o n th e London Review of Books

YURI SENOKOSOV is a p h i lo s o p h e r b a s e d in M o s c ow

EDWARD SKIDELSKY is a w r i t e r l iv in g in L o n d o n

ROBERT SKIDELSKY is d i r e c to r o f th e S o c ia l M a r k e t F o u n d a t io n

STELLA TILLYARD is a b io g r a p h e r a n d h i s to r ia n , a n d th e a u t h o r o f Aristocrats (C h a t to & W in d u s )

MARTIN WALKER is a P u b l ic P o l ic y F e l lo w a t th e W o o d r ow W i ls o n I n s t i t u t e in W a s h in g to n D C

JOHN WILLMAN is c o n s u m e r in d u s t r i e s e d i to r a t th e Financial Times contents

Issue fifty March 2000

OPINIONS 10 Germany moves on MICHAEL MERTES

K o h l ’s p o l i t ic s b y p r iv a te f ix w a s n o t s u i t e d to a g lo b a l i s e d w o r l d— t h a t ’s w h y i t h a d to fa ll. 11 No, prime minister ROBERT SKIDELSKY

T o n y B la i r ’s c a l l fo r th e n a t io n a l i s a t io n o f s c h o o ls is b a s e d o n a fa ls e r e a d i n g o f B r i t a in ’s e d u c a t io n a l h i s to ry . ESSAY John Armstrong on the insignificance of installation art

Installation has become the most prominent of the fine arts. But unlike previous art forms, it depends mainly on the artist’s ideas about the work, and most of these are banal. PAGE 38

12 No brainer GERALD HOLTHAM

T h e g o v e r n m e n t c a n lo w e r th e p o u n d and b o o s t i t s ow n re v e n u e s— b u t i t w o n ’t h a p p e n . 13 Sounds of silence RICHARD REEVES

In a w o r ld in c r e a s in g ly d r iv e n b y id eas, p e o p le a r e le s s w i l l in g to s h a r e th em .

14 Abolish Eng lit STEPHEN BROWN

T h e t r a d i t i o n a l c a n o n o f E n g l i s h l i t e r a t u r e is n o t e q u i p p i n g s c h o o l - l e a v e r s to th in k a b o u t c u l tu r e .

DEBATE 16 Is charging for services the way to save the NHS? JOHN WILLMAN AND JULIA NEUBERGER

W o u ld c h a r g i n g p e o p le fo r u s in g th e N H S s a v e i t f r om b e c o m in g a s e c o n d - c la s s s e rv i c e fo r th o s e w h o c a n n o t a f fo rd p r iv a t e in s u r a n c e ?

ESSAYS 27 Hypermobility JOHN ADAMS

C o n g e s t io n a n d p o l lu t io n a r e n o t th e o n ly p r o b l em s c a u s e d b y in c re a s e d p h y s ic a l m o b i l i ty . E v e n i f th e s e co u ld b e f ix ed , th e so c ia l c o s ts w o u ld rem a in . 32 No argument MARTIN WALKER

T h e f o u r c a n d id a t e s f o r th e U S p r e s i d e n c y d o n o t d i f f e r m u c h in th e i r d o m e s t ic p o l ic y o r id eo lo g y . B u t th e o u t c om e c o u ld m a k e a b ig d i f f e r e n c e to th e r e s t o f th e w o r ld .

PORTRAIT 46 Victor Pelevin JASON COWLEY

R u s s ia n l i t e r a r y c u l tu r e is in d i s a r r a y b u t i t c a n s t i l l h a v e a g o o d ro w a b o u t i t s m o s t f a s h io n a b l e w r i te r .

2 PROSPECT March 2000