 | |
| Editor | Alan Rusbridger |
|---|---|
| Categories | Politics, world affairs, arts and culture |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Total circulation (2023) | 31,074[1][2] |
| First issue | October 1995; 30 years ago (1995-10) |
| Company | Prospect Publishing Ltd. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Based in | London, United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Website | prospectmagazine |
| ISSN | 1359-5024 |
| OCLC | 682565489 |
Prospect is a monthlyBritish general-interest magazine, specialising in politics, economics and current affairs. Topics covered include British and other European, as well as US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy and psychology.Prospect features a mixture of lengthy analytic articles, first-person reportage, one-page columns and shorter items.
The magazine was launched in October 1995 byDavid Goodhart, then a senior correspondent for theFinancial Times (FT), and chairmanDerek Coombs, an exConservative PartyMP. Goodhart came up with the idea of producing an essay-based monthly general-interest magazine—a form unknown in Britain at that time—while covering German reunification asBonn correspondent for theFT.
Some prominent intellectuals have featured inProspect, including economistsJoseph Stiglitz,Amartya Sen andAngus Deaton, writers such asLionel Shriver,Clive James,Toni Morrison andMargaret Atwood, as well as scientists likeMartin Rees. Notable features of the magazine include debates of two writers with opposing views, discussions among a series of experts with varying views, an edited transcript of which is published in the magazine, and interviews with political and cultural figures (examples includeOrhan Pamuk,Paul Wolfowitz andHilary Mantel).
Prospect received worldwide attention in October 2005 when it published its list of the world's top 100 public intellectuals, which includedZiauddin Sardar,Noam Chomsky,Umberto Eco,Richard Dawkins,Steven Pinker andChristopher Hitchens. When the magazine asked readers to vote for the top intellectual on the list, Chomsky emerged the winner. Subsequent lists continued to get attention. Dawkins claimed the top spot in 2013.Amartya Sen won in 2014 andThomas Piketty was the winner in 2015. After a four year absence, the award was revived byCaucher Birkar in 2019.
In 2011,Prospect published the winningshort story of theRoyal Society of Literature's V. S. Pritchett Memorial Prize,Carys Davies' ‘'The Redemption of Galen Pike'’.[3]
Prospect magazine is published by theResolution Group.[4]
The magazine features contributions from authors spanning the mainstream political spectrum. It tends to avoid a "line" on specific policy issues, claiming to offer a "contrarian" view and to be an "open minded" magazine.[5] It has published articles debunking the "popular wisdom", on topics ranging from Japan's alleged economic crisis to theMahdi army in Iraq.[original research?] However, it has been described as left-leaning by theBBC,[6] and theProspect contributorRoger Scruton.[7]
In an August 2009 roundtable interview inProspect,Adair Turner supported the idea of new globaltaxes on financial transactions, warning that a "swollen" financial sector paying excessive salaries has grown too big for society. Turner's suggestion that a "Tobin tax", named after the economistJames Tobin, should be considered forfinancial transactions drew international attention.
Since 2004, the magazine's founding editor,David Goodhart, has stirred controversy with a series of articles arguing that the increasingdiversity of the United Kingdom may weaken thebonds of solidarity on which the welfare state depends. The debate fed into the broader discussions of "Britishness".[citation needed]
Prospect holds the annual Think Tank Awards, which celebrate and reward the works ofthink tanks on a national and global scale. The awards are supported byShell. Categories include "Global Think Tank of the Year", "Publication of the Year", "North American Think Tank of the Year", "European Think Tank of the Year" (excluding Britain), 'UK Think Tank of the Year', and many sub-categories just for the UK.[8]
According to the official website, "The awards are judged by a cross-party panel looking for evidence of influence on public policy and on the public discourse. The judges will also consider the quality of research and potential of younger and smaller organisations." The awards have been running since 2001, and have been expanding exponentially to include more global awards for international Think Tanks. The winner of the most recent 2017 Think Tank awards (held at theInstitute of Directors on 10 July) was theJoseph Rowntree Foundation, based in the UK, for its "very strong analytical appraisal of the social conditions in Britain".
