All of nationalism can be understood as a kind of collective narcissism.

One effect of an individualistic culture that's poor at instilling mutual respect is that people jump more quickly to anger or violence.

I can think of nothing worse than a think-tank where everybody agreed.

The most dynamic cities have always been immersed in the critical innovations of their time.

The once-science-fiction notion of hyper-connectivity - where we are all constantly connected to social networks and other bubbling streams of digital data - has rapidly become a widespread reality.

Before the Second World War, L'Oreal in France was an active supporter of the French fascists. The cosmetic group's founder Eugene Schueller was an active member of the 'Cagoule' group, committed to the violent overthrow of the Third Republic, and hosted meetings at Oreal headquarters.

One of the lessons of history is that even the deepest crises can be moments of opportunity. They bring ideas from the margins into the mainstream.