Ed West: visitor from a dying empire
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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British Empire
1 min read
The article discusses Britain's economic and cultural decline from a European standout to a laggard. Understanding the historical trajectory of British imperial decline provides essential context for the 'longue durée' perspective Ed West brings to contemporary British malaise.
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Welfare state in the United Kingdom
13 min read
The conversation explicitly probes why the British are attached to their welfare state. This Wikipedia article covers the post-war Beveridge Report origins, NHS creation, and evolution of British social policy that shaped the political economy being discussed.
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Islam in the United Kingdom
16 min read
The article discusses tensions within Britain's large Muslim minority and mass migration patterns. This topic provides demographic data, historical waves of migration, and the specific cultural and political dynamics that inform the conversation.
Today Razib talks to Ed West, a British journalist and author. He has served as deputy editor of UnHerd and The Catholic Herald, and has written columns for The Spectator and The Daily Telegraph. He runs the Substack newsletter Wrong Side of History, where he explores culture, politics, and the longue durée of Western history. West is the author of books including Small Men on the Wrong Side of History and The Diversity Illusion, as well as popular-history titles such as 1066 and Before All That.
A previous podcast guest, West and Razib revisit the topic of British decline three years on. They discuss Britain’s economic transformation, from one of the standout economies of Europe a generation ago, to a laggard. Razib probes why the British seem so attached to their welfare state, and why the state has embraced anti-growth policies along with high migration rates. They also discuss the tensions within Britain’s large Muslim minority, and the cultural environment that allowed for mass migrant inflows despite their political unpopularity.
This excerpt is provided for preview purposes. Full article content is available on the original publication.