30 March 2009
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From the Editor…
Welcome to the New Statesman website. Whether you are a new reader or an existing one - online or via the magazine - I hope you'll enjoy the great writing, fresh ideas and provocative debate that make the New Statesman Britain's award-winning current affairs weekly
Cover story
No-one rules the world
US economic power is crumbling, but China is not yet ready to take over the reins. Martin Jacques reflects on the potential impact of the G20 ahead of world leaders arriving in London. Part of the NS's unrivalled coverage of the global crisis
Features
A dangerous paranoia
The Home Office is attempting to sell the concept of ID cards to the public by claiming they are an essential weapon for controlling immigration
We need a summit for Sudan
After the expulsion of aid agencies, the hell of Darfur will only get worse – unless the rest of the world acts swiftly to intervene
London calls the street rebels
The global justice movement is back in town – and planning the biggest rally since the Iraq War march. The difference this time is that the politicians may have to listen
Nature’s vital circles
Work dominates our lives, yet its places and processes are ignored by artists. Now, more than ever, we must learn to appreciate the world in which we labour
The divided self
Annette Messager subverts the stereotype of women as nurturing creatures
Essay
Thinking the crisis
The G20 is in danger of becoming wrapped up in a futile argument between fiscal stimulators and re-regulationists. Like a fight between a shark and a lion, it is a conflict without any logical outcome and a terrible slump looms
Interview
Interview: Ed Balls
‘‘Do I want to be chancellor? Of course I do. I’d love it’’ Gloria De Piero spends the day with Ed Balls
Regulars
The Politics Column
Chess in 20 dimensions
Gordon Brown knows that his last chance of staging another comeback rests not on the G20 summit, but on the Budget of 22 April, writes Andrew Grice
Down & Out in London
Down and out in London
Once you hit your stride, you’re spending about 23 hours a day in bed. No wonder I look so well
After you. No, after you
No 4068 Set by J Seery Watching classic serials on TV is said to improve people’s manners and behaviour in real life. We asked for an everyday conversation (for example, in a supermarket queue or a crowded Tube carriage) that had been influenced by watching, say, a serialisation of a Jane Austen novel
Film
The timid script brings a parochial feel to the celebrated manager’s story
The Damned United (15) dir: Tom Hooper
Television
The gimmicky chef achieves a new level of attention-grabbing silliness
Heston’s Roman Feast Channel 4
Radio
Desperate to hear the rugby, our correspondent takes extreme measures
The hands that strangle England
Album Reviews
Affirmative action
Nearly 30 years on, the Gilbert and George of pop are still charmers Pet Shop Boys Yes (Parlophone)
Books
Last among equals
The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett Allen Lane, 352pp, £20
A proper Charlie
Chaplin: the Tramp’s Odyssey Simon Louvish Faber & Faber, 432pp, £25
Speak what we feel
Who Is It That Can Tell Me Who I Am? Jane Haynes Constable & Robinson, 352pp, £7.99
Bright lights, bleak city
Harare North Brian Chikwava Jonathan Cape, 240pp, £12.99 Forest Gate Peter Akinti Jonathan Cape, 192pp, £12.99
