Success is the highest virtue in American society. The flip-side is that America's losers get a raw deal. Understand American politics by understanding the country's cultural underpinnings.

The political mainstream is sorely lacking in confidence, vision, leadership, and ideas. Here is a way forward.

The power of US presidents to grant pardons is a legacy of feudalism. It is likely to be abused under Trump 2.

Is your head in the sand regarding what is happening in the US? Worse, is your bravery failings as your freedom is taken away?

I present a three-step programme for making politics in wealthy democracies work far better than it does today.

The English admire resilience. But their admiration of resilience allows political parties to sell myths about the country's problems.

The British electoral system allows parties to focus on rivals, not issues. Fundamental challenges are therefore neglected.

The upcoming US election is more than just a choice between two old men. It is a choice between democracy and authoritarianism.

There has been a marked erosion in the quality of politics and economics in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.

Politicians are entrusted with the most important jobs, but they can lie with impunity. What can be done to make politicians honest?