Ben Sixsmith - Quillette

Shawls, Books, and Bombs

Reflections on Polish resistance.

Ben Sixsmith

19 Aug 2022 · 8 min read

How Trump Missed His, and America's, Best Chance on Coronavirus

There is another world out there. There is another world, with another President Donald J. Trump. There is another world in which President Trump saw coronavirus sweeping through China and grasped how powerfully and elegantly his claims about the authoritarian and deceptive nature of the Chinese state had been illustrated.

Ben Sixsmith

10 Mar 2020 · 6 min read

The Decadent Society—A Review

Writing about decadence can be symptomatic of the condition.

Ben Sixsmith

17 Feb 2020 · 7 min read

Grooming Gangs and Indifferent Police: What Have We Learned After Rotherham?

Sajid Javid, during his time as the U.K.’s Home Secretary, promised an investigation into the grooming phenomenon but nothing materialized. It is clear that we need investigations, but we also need accountability.

Ben Sixsmith

4 Feb 2020 · 9 min read

'For the Love of Men'—A Review

I am sure that men, and the world in general, would be better off if we could foster more intimate male friendships and more honest interaction between men and doctors but some idealised vision of male sensitivity might shatter when confronted with the stresses of the world.

Ben Sixsmith

1 Nov 2019 · 7 min read

The Globalisation of Ethnonationalism

Art and ideas that had been dreamed up on one side of the world could reach and change people on the other.

Ben Sixsmith

29 Mar 2019 · 7 min read

Deepfakes and the Threat to Privacy and Truth

In an age of heated polarization of it will be difficult for politicians to convince their opponents that damaging videos are in fact deepfakes.

Ben Sixsmith

23 Feb 2019 · 6 min read

The Right Needs To Grow Up On Environmentalism

All of us hope to enjoy our lives, of course, but much of what we do to help our fellow men, our children, and our children’s children involves sacrificing our immediate enjoyment for the sake of their interests.

Ben Sixsmith

25 Jan 2019 · 10 min read

In Defense of Male Stoicism

Endless articles and innumerable campaigns have been devoted to helping men cry, ending the phrase “man up” and, above all, getting men to talk.

Ben Sixsmith

21 Dec 2018 · 6 min read

'Anti-Imperialism' and Apologetics for Murder

The anti-imperialist Left’s mistake has not always been its opposition to Western policies, it has been its reflexive idealisation of the West’s opponents.

Ben Sixsmith

15 Sep 2018 · 11 min read

Britain's Grooming Gang Crisis

Yet if the phenomenon is to be understood it is important to evaluate the data objectively. Otherwise we have a lot of heat and little light.

Ben Sixsmith

14 Mar 2018 · 7 min read

In Memory of the Spanish Flu

The origins of the virus are disputed. Researchers have pointed to China, Austria and France.

Ben Sixsmith

6 Jan 2018 · 7 min read

Why Are Non-Believers Turning to Their Bibles?

There are nonbelievers, though, who turn to the Bible for advice and inspiration and are “cultural Christians” in a deeper sense.

Ben Sixsmith

12 Nov 2017 · 7 min read

Haruki Murakami, Poet of Loneliness

It is in such trancelike states that Murakami’s characters are drawn into the lands of the surreal and the absurd.

Ben Sixsmith

13 Oct 2017 · 5 min read

Why Can Comedians Be So Irritating?

Comedians poke fun at the absurd, unreasonable aspects of our thought, our behaviour and our societies so it is tempting to assume that they are rational themselves.

Ben Sixsmith

22 Sep 2017 · 5 min read