A sense of calm – and perhaps even hope – is spreading across the world following Donald Trump’s election victory. Trump and his party have seized everything that matters: the Senate, the House of Representatives and even the absolute number of votes. Perhaps we are moving away from the political follies that have run rampant in recent years; perhaps we   …  

For a long time, the thought recurred: ‘When Americans elect a black president, then true equality will have been achieved.’ This phrase almost became a metaphor for a distant vision, something that, though possible, belonged to a future far beyond the horizon. But then Barack Obama emerged on the political scene, with his message of change in a climate of   …  

When we look at the campaign of the losing presidential candidate Kamala Harris, a number of questions arise. The first question is why did the Democrats choose her? She was not a natural candidate, ill-informed with no political profile, and a poor speaker and communicator. Did they feel compelled to choose her because she was vice-president, and part of the   …  

Kamala Harris was something of an impossible candidate, not particularly popular even within the party, ill-informed and uncharismatic. Her predecessor Joe Biden was also an objectively bad candidate, suffering from age-related ailments already in the last election campaign, which only got worse during his disastrous four-year term. He eventually had to drop out of the race, and the Democratic Party   …  

Anyone who grew up in the 1970s will remember post-war Europe, where a third of Germany was behind the communist Iron Curtain, along with Poland, the Baltic States, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, partly Yugoslavia, Albania and, of course, Russia. But the countries of the West also faced political challenges. Spain and Portugal were dictatorships, Greece was ruled by a military   …  

There is a lot of strange ambiguity in the world, a whole portfolio of opinions whose veracity is questionable; let’s start with some examples: Whatever we think of Donald Trump’s personality, he seems to be working for the good of the United States and his policy proposals are likely to get the country back on its feet. During his last   …  

There are many signs that we live in an increasingly conservative society. One example, which I mentioned in another article, is the requirement to be addressed correctly. So-called ‘misgendering’ is considered a major offence in some circles, if you call someone ‘he’ when they perceive themselves as a ‘she’ or ‘they’. In the past, in our more conservative societies, titles   …  

Actually, wouldn’t it be better if Kamala Harris won? So she can continue to dismantle the American economy, and keep the Russians and Chinese busy, while we Europeans reform and build an empire? Well, she is hardly a given candidate. Perhaps her pal’s perpetual war is rubbing off on us too? And there will be American hawks who think they   …  

The classic nation state is about ‘one people and one country’. It often talks about linguistic and cultural unity, but there are also aspects of ethnicity and religion. For example, Sweden is the country of the Swedes, a people with a specific ethnicity and language. In this case, it is also a Protestant religious affiliation, which has now been diluted.   …  

The dream of the kingdom of bliss, Utopia, the problem has haunted humanity for centuries. How do you build a society where everyone is caring and respects each other? How do you go about it? Perhaps there is only one way to get there. Oppose nationalism First of all, you have to erase all the old historical injustices and the   …  

It was the third time my bike was stolen, and a few days later it appeared online, for sale. Maybe it was even the same thief as last time? I was so tired of society developing in this direction, not being allowed to have your things in peace, feeling unsafe, and having to walk with your head bowed in a   …