The Face of Love

The space between righteous self-defence and turning into what you hate

Love, sister
It's just a kiss away

—Gimmie Shelter

I sometimes wish I could share with you the names of those this newsletter goes out to, though don’t worry, I never would. Maybe you would be surprised at the company you are keeping, and I don’t just mean that you would recognise a lot of names, but that the range of political and religious and social views represented is much broader than some presume. I have, at different times, been accused of pandering to an audience, but I have to say, knowing the diversity the email list represents, I wouldn’t know where to start if that was my aim.

I am not even sure where I sit on the political spectrum myself anymore, though if I wanted to summarise my basic position it would be something like “bottom-up democracy”. I’m interested in practical approaches that move political power away from opaque institutions, away from corporate interests and entrenched managerial classes. I want institutions that allow as much participation as possible from a …