Contents September 2011

In Prospect 7 If I ruled the world

My liberal, humanist utopia. imogen stubbs 8 Recommends 10 Diary

Opinions 12 What’s left?

Labour will be in trouble as politics goes local. mark malloch brown

14 A Peckham tale

The young people who will lead Britain. lindsay johns 15 Edinburgh cocoon

The fringe avoids the city’s dark reality. michael coveney

16 Band aid

Aid agencies make Africa’s problems worse. michael holman 17 China diary

A night spent with ghosts. mark kitto

18 Debate

Are free schools good for Britain? melissa benn vs rachel wolf 20 Letters plus stephen collins’s cartoon strip.

Features

22 A good crisis gone to waste Too little has changed since the collapse of

Lehmans, argues john kay. 27 But the new rules could hurt the recovery, says howard davies 30 Corrupt and confused The police force is changing, but in the wrong way.

martin innes plus ian blair, peter kellner, jessica de grazia, robert davies 38 The twilight war Ten years after 9/11, what have we learned? An exclusive extract from the new afterword to the 9/11 Commission report. philip zelikow 44 Rebuilding Russia In the heart of St Petersburg lies a mysterious island. Why is Roman Abramovich coming to its rescue? shaun walker 50 From Christ to Coke What makes something an icon? roger scruton Investment report 57 The age of debt george magnus: investors can still pick profitable paths forward jim o’neill: look to emerging markets catherine stanley: it’s all about balance sheets andrew balls: some bonds are good news alex godwin: gold keeps its shine vince heaney: commodities could slump desmond lachman: count on the dollar andy davis: cash is crowned again eptember2011 ·prospect· 3