Now for some good news. Just after we went to press in June, Standpoint, a new monthly review of politics and culture, made its debut in London. Edited by the distinguished journalist and historian (and frequent contributor to The New Criterion) Daniel Johnson, Standpoint eschews both the politically correct pieties that have insinuated themselves disastrously into so much serious cultural journalism over the past few decades as well as the tawdry commercialism that has rendered many hitherto vital periodicals indistinguishable from inflight magazines. There has been nothing as vibrant and engaging in English journalism since Encounter closed its doors some two decades ago. “Give me a point on which to stand,” said Archimedes, “and I will move the world.” “The intention of Standpoint,” Johnson wrote in its inaugural issue,

is to provide a lever which can indeed move the world, by invoking the noblest ideals to which humanity has aspired. Free speech and a free press; the dignity of the individual and the family; the liberty to worship and to refrain from worship; scientific inquiry limited only by respect for human life; the rule of law; parliamentary democracy and the free market; human rights balanced by reciprocal duties; toleration of minority views and practices, but not at the price of moral relativism.

Judging by its first few issues—which carry contributions by such authoritative writers as Michael Burleigh, Tim Congdon, Robert Conquest, Clive James, Douglas Murray, Melanie Phillips, and Andrew Roberts —Standpoint will amply live up to its promise “to celebrate and defend Western civilization, its achievements and its values.” To subscribe, call 011.44.207.563.9840 or visit www.standpointmag.co.uk.