Anthony Barnett (born November 1942) is a modern English writer and campaigner. He was a co-founder of

openDemocracy openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage de ...

in 2001.

Biography

Barnett was a student at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he was active in the

Labour Club In Britain, the National Union of Labour and Socialist Clubs (NULSC) is a socialist society representing Working men's clubs affiliated to the Labour Party (many are also affiliated to the Working Men's Club and Institute Union The Workin ...

, and lodged with

Nicholas Kaldor Nicholas Kaldor, Baron Kaldor (12 May 1908 – 30 September 1986), born Káldor Miklós, was a Cambridge economist in the post-war period. He developed the "compensation" criteria called Kaldor–Hicks efficiency for welfare comparisons (1939), ...

. A former member of the editorial committee of ''

New Left Review The ''New Left Review'' is a British bimonthly journal covering world politics, economy, and culture, which was established in 1960. History Background As part of the British "New Left" a number of new journals emerged to carry commentary on m ...

'', Barnett has written for the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' and '' Prospect''. He conceived the television film ''England's

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Mo ...

'' (1988), which concerned the sculptor's co-option by the British establishment. He was the first Director of

Charter 88 Charter 88 was a British pressure group that advocated constitutional and electoral reform and owes its origins to the lack of a written constitution. It began as a special edition of the ''New Statesman'' magazine in 1988 and it took its name f ...

from 1988 to 1995 and Co-Director of the Convention on Modern Liberty (2008–2009) with Henry Porter. In 2001 he founded

with Paul Hilder, Susie Richards and David Hayes and was its Editor and then its Editor-in-Chief until 2007. He remains a regular contributor to the website. In 2016, he serialise
Blimey it could be Brexit!
publishing a chapter a week in the run up to Britain's EU referendum about the forces behind the vote. His in-depth evaluation was announced to be published by Unbound in 2017
''What Next: Britain after Brexit''
. The title was changed to ''The Lure of Greatness: England’s Brexit and America’s Trump''. In 2022 he published ''Taking Control! Humanity and America after Trump and the Pandemic'' with

Repeater Books Repeater Books is a publishing imprint based in London, founded in 2014 by Tariq Goddard and Mark Fisher, formerly the founders of radical publishers Zero Books, along with Etan Ilfeld, Tamar Shlaim, Alex Niven and Matteo Mandarini. Formation ...

, on the possibilities of a progressive future. Barnett was awarded an honorary doctorate from

The Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

in September 2013, and an honorary doctorate from Goldsmiths University in 2019
Higher education should be about love and justice
. He lives with

Judith Herrin Judith Herrin (; born 1942) is a British archaeologist, byzantinist, and historian of Late Antiquity. She was a Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies and Constantine Leventis Senior Research Fellow at King's College London (now emeri ...

; the couple have two daughters, the singer

Tamara Barnett-Herrin Tamara Barnett-Herrin is an English singer-songwriter, who has sung with the group Freeform Five on the album ''Strangest Things'' which was released in 2005. A later project is the ''Calendar Songs'' album, an internet-based collaborative CC ...

and Portia Barnett-Herrin. Barnett has endorsed Joe Biden for re-election in the

2024 U.S. Presidential election The 2024 United States presidential election will be the 60th quadrennial presidential election, scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2024. It will be the first presidential election after electoral votes were redistributed during the 2020 ce ...

, stating that he does not believe Joe Biden to be a racist, as opposed to Donald Trump, who Barnett has referred to as a "

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

." Citing Biden's enthusiastic appointment of

Ketanji Brown Jackson Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson ( ; born September 14, 1970) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Joe Biden on February 25, 20 ...

to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

, Barnett opines "

e believes E, or e, is the fifth Letter (alphabet), letter and the second vowel#Written vowels, vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worl ...

Biden upportsintegration" and thus deserves a second term.

Bibliography

* *''Iron Britannia, Why Parliament Waged its Falklands War'' (1982) *''Soviet Freedom'' (1988) *''Debating the Constitution'' (1992) with Caroline Ellis and Paul Hirst *''Power and the Throne'' (1994), drawn from the Charter 88 monarchy debate *''This Time - Our Constitutional Revolution'' (1997) *''Town and Country'' (1999) edited with

Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher and writer who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views. Editor from 1982 ...

*''The Athenian Option, Radical reform of the House of Lords'' with Peter Cary (2008) *''The Lure of Greatness: England's Brexit and America's Trump'' (2017) *''Taking Control!: Humanity and America After Trump and the Pandemic'' (2022)

Essays and reporting

* * Introduction to 'Architect or Bee?' by Mike Cooley published by Hogarth Press in 1987;

References

External links

Journalisted - Articles by Anthony BarnettConvention on Modern Liberty
1942 births Living people British male journalists British writers The New York Review of Books people {{UK-journalist-stub