The Honourable James Buchan (born 11 June 1954) is a Scottish novelist and historian. Read full biography of James Buchan →
For 50 years, nuclear power stations have produced three products which only a lunatic could want: bomb-explosive plutonium, lethal radioactive waste... →
A century ago, petroleum - what we call oil - was just an obscure commodity; today it is almost as vital to human existence as water.
Financial crises are like fireworks: they illuminate the sky even as they go pop.
All UK nuclear power stations should be shut down without delay.
Suicidal violence is not the exclusive property of the Muslim world. Suicide bombings were a tactic of nationalist struggles in 19th-century Europe... →
At the heart of banking is a suicidal strategy. Banks take money from the public or each other on call, skim it for their own reward and then lock... →
The world survived the fall of the Roman empire and will no doubt outlast our own so much more splendid civilisation.
There are signs that the age of petroleum has passed its zenith. Adjusted for inflation, a barrel of crude oil now sells for three times its long-run... →
We read too much Shakespeare at school, and view our parliamentary politics as dynastic drama, in which an impatient crown prince frets at his long... →
By pouring money and goods into devastated regions, foreign aid workers sometimes compound the disruption and debauch the survivors.
An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support.
Liberty in Islam is the liberty to be a Muslim, democracy likewise, individualism likewise.
The prevailing ideology of the modern west - which is political economy - is in the doghouse. Having failed to notice atmospheric pollution, the... →
The Honourable James Buchan (born 11 June 1954) is a Scottish novelist and historian.