Contents October 2011

In Prospect 9 If I ruled the world

My dog would travel by jet. pj o’rourke 10 Recommends

Six things to do this month. 12 Diary

Opinions 14 Interview: Chris Huhne

The controversial minister talks to james macintyre 15 A toxic brand

If the Tory party were your fridge, your food would rot. peter hitchens 16 The next big thing?

Blue Labour and Red Tory ideas mark the end of liberalism. david goodhart 18 Wrong lesson

Vocational diplomas have failed. tina isaacs 18 No Marshall Plan

Unrealistic promises of aid won’t boost the Arab Spring. amitai etzioni

19 You talking to me?

A trainspotter’s guide to political speeches. sam leith 20 China diary

Waste is endemic in China. mark kitto

22 Letters plus stephen collins’s cartoon strip.

Features

24 Britain in 2021 Debts, a disintegrating Union, an awkward King?

Or more growth, more privacy and oil under the Isle of Wight? Prospect asks how the country will look ten years from now. andrew roberts, bryan appleyard, juliet gardiner, simon jenkins, samuel brittan, maria misra, tom ravenscroft, simon baron-cohen, lucy prebble, martin sorrell and giles andrews 34 The Boris dilemma The mayor of London could bid for No 10. Would anyone take him seriously? james macintyre plus peter kellner on the next mayoral election. 40 Delusions of peace Steven Pinker argues that we are becoming less violent. Nonsense, says john gray 46 The sound of capitalism Hip hop’s love affair with capitalism. steve yates 50 China: at war with its own history The Communist strangehold on the past.

isabel hilton plus a former Red Guard writes of new fears 56 What Alice did Alice in Wonderland’s enduring appeal.

richard jenkyns Manufacturing report 63 Can Britain make it? We’re good at making things—despite government.

richard lambert plus david kern says we need banks er2011 ·prospect· 5