Welcome! It’s timely to stress that The Political Compass has been on the internet since 2001. The uniqueness of our take on politics is reflected in the gratifyingly enthusiastic reviews we’ve enjoyed in the national media of many countries from our earliest years — as well as from many teachers and academics who continue to use our work.
Read more about our work here.
The Population Bomb was a bombshell best-seller when it was unleashed in 1968. Author Paul Ehrlich, a renowned biologist, warned of the consequences of unchecked population growth and introduced the term Zero Population Growth (ZPG).
The population then was less than half of today’s figure, yet the issue is barely mentioned now in the media and public discourse. Despite our greater awareness of climate change, peak oil and other related hazards, why did population slip off the radar?
Distrust and scorn towards intellectuals has always been a powerful force in the United States, according to a Pulitzer Prize-winning book written 62 years ago by Richard Hofstadter, Anti-Intellectualism in American Life.
Many other academics have looked at this question over the years, contrasting the widespread American attitude to that of the Europeans.
Now a fascinating new book from Oxford University Press takes up the theme. Anti Scientific Americans is written by Boston University Professor Matthew Motta. Wayne Brittenden discusses with him the social and political factors that have brought this about.
Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington DC, discusses with Wayne Brittenden the ethical and legal situation of capital punishment globally — but particularly in the US, which is the only western democracy that — at least in 29 states — can still execute its citizens.
Our growing list of relatively timeless interviews
One of the world’s foremost authorities on the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war warns of the growing likelihood of it happening.
With the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists placing the hands of the Doomsday Clock dangerously close to midnight, we ask Dr Tilman Ruff what a nuclear war would mean to humankind.
Philosopher and Professor of Philosophy at Yale University Jason Stanley discusses his book on fascism — a word currently widely used but often misunderstood. Stanley, also the author of How Propaganda Works, offers some unique insights into the fascist mindset and the circumstances that help create it.
