Social

As the debate continues on the causes of last summer’s English Riots, Michael Roberts examines previous attempts by reformers to address moral malaise and social breakdown.

Robin Whitlock asks if studies of the decline of societies such as that of Easter Island can shed light on contemporary concerns.

The year 1812 was a turning point in the career of the industrialist Robert Owen. Ian Donnachie examines his Essays on a New View of Society, in which Owen first aired the ideas about popular education and workers’ welfare that would make him famous as a reformer.

R. E. Foster explains how law and order were institutionalised in the 16th century.

The leading Victorian radical and Liberal politician John Bright was born on November 16th 1811.

Dorothy Sherindan, the Archivist of Mass-Observation at the University of Sussex, traces its development - and revival in the 1980s.

Fifty years ago a British film challenged widespread views on homosexuality and helped to change the law. Andrew Roberts looks at the enduring impact of Basil Dearden’s Victim.

There is nothing new or exceptional about the recent English riots and they will have little long-term impact, argues Tim Stanley.

Jez Ross corrects misunderstandings about the origins and significance of disturbances in 1549.

Chris Corin ressurects the life of a Soviet survivor whose remarkable and significant career deserves to be better known.