Contents in prospect 5 If I ruled the world colin blakemore 6 Diary 8 Number cruncher peter kellner 10 Prospect recommends 12 Politics philip collins 14 Letters plus stephen collins’s cartoon strip.
opinions 16 What I’ve learned
Why I’m resolved on student fees. george osborne
18 Out of control he coalition rifts over policy on terror suspects. shami chakrabarti 19 Where now?
Where Eric Hobsbawm’s new book goes wrong. james purnell 20 Happiness index here’s a certain charm to Italy’s lack of ambition. anna blundy 21 Let’s fix Easter
Its variable date is a needless headache in our lives. andrew dow dispatches 22 Washington renegade 23 China mark kitto 24 Brussels manneken pis 25 Letter from Sudan
Will the world gain a new country in January? tristan mcconnell
63 Leith on life sam leith 64 Matters of taste tom bruce-gardyne 66 Sporting life david goldblatt science & technology 67 Top ten brains of the digital future
Prospect’s panel of experts picks the world’s best thinkers on technology 70 Lab report philip ball 71 In search of ET
Life on exoplanets? martin rees 72 Survival of the urban species ity wildlife boom. philip hunter 72 The month ahead anjana ahuja
27 Will Hillary save Obama? Clinton could prop up the troubled president—or make a last bid for the top job herself. diane roberts
Features 33 Prospects for 2011
What will the new year bring in politics and the way we live? And what was the best and worst of 2010?
44 Nick in the north he Lib Dem leader is a national scapegoat—but not for everyone in his backyard. david goodhart Interview Nick Clegg.
50 We’re all squeezed now
Who is middle-class? gavin kelly
52 How the Celtic tiger lost its roar
Who’s to blame for Ireland’s woes? john murray brown
58 When love and culture clash ross-border marriages are on the rise. But what if they break up? janine di giovanni arts & books 75 The write stuff reating writing courses pay off for some. But, says Ian McEwan, you can’t teach talent. leo benedictus 78 Wishful thinking
Will Hutton’s book shows that he is a flawed visionary. anatole kaletsky 80 Private view ben lewis 81 Love, death and cigarettes ulian Barnes’s new collection is below his best. amanda craig 82 A life in the vanguard he great theatre director Peter Brook talks to michael coveney 84 Not so hot in Norway o Nesbo’s gory Scandinavian thrillers. andrew anthony 85 Smallscreen peter bazalgette 86 FiveBooks robert mccrum chooses books on the English language 87 Widescreen mark cousins
FICTION 88 Tea at the Midland The winning story from this year’s
BBC National Short Story Award. david constantine
93 Enigmas & puzzles ian stewart 94 The generalist didymus 95 The Prospect list 96 Ethics man Your problems solved by joe joseph january 2011 · prospect · 3
