Sunday Thoughts: Net Zero, Shamima Begum, and a "long defeat"
Welcome to Sunday, class mates. I hope you’re having a restful, joyful one, wherever you are. I’ve had a back and forth with a friend on the various Net Zero policy approaches designed to deal with climate change this week, specifically on rising energy costs for everyday people and businesses, which explains why ‘climate’ gets a whole section in this weekly newsletter. The big news in British politics was the confirmation that Shamima Begum, the Isis Bride, has had her citizenship removed and so you can find the ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments that were to be found in UnHerd this last week. Otherwise, expect Tolkien, Rob Henderson, and Douglas Murray to receive a mention owing to their work on matters of culture.
Links of the week
Climate
Decarbonisation is Labour’s next green policy disaster | The Spectator
Net zero will be far more expensive than public thinks, Lords warned (telegraph.co.uk)
High energy costs are a choice – and an act of national self-harm (telegraph.co.uk)
Politics
The case against Shamima Begum | by Niall Gooch in UnHerd
The case for Shamima Begum | by Jonathan Sumption in UnHerd
Culture
Big Money, Elites, San Francisco | Rob Henderson’s Newsletter on Substack
As a side note, I’d highly recommend buying Rob’s new book "Troubled: A memoir of foster care, family, and social class”, which came out this last week. I devoured it. It’s moving and shows vividly the disconnect between ordinary folks and the luxury belief class.
The fight to save an ancient city synagogue from developers | by Christopher Howse in The Spectator
The trouble with defining genocide | by Douglas Murray in The Spectator
Decline without fall: Tolkien and the long defeat | by Thomas Adamo in Stanford Review
This week’s podcast
#015 - Martina Macpherson - What ESG Is And Why There Is A Backlash
Full show:
Some clips:
Upcoming podcast
In the next episode of Thinking Class, you’ll find me speaking with
, writer of The Potemkin Village Idiot. Whilst this week, I’ll be recording with episodes with and in the coming week. Keep an ear out for what we talk about as each conversation drops upon each of the coming Fridays.Until next time, class mates.