Manifesto Club Thinkpieces put our campaigning in broader perspective, exploring the underlying dynamics behind the state regulation of public spaces and informal life. This Thinkpiece by Dolan Cummings explores the historical and political background to our defence of everyday freedom. The idea that ‘Britain is a free country’ is so taken for granted that it’s more likely to elicit a roll of the eyes than a swell of pride. It’s a cliché associated with ‘Whig history’ and Cold War triumphalism. It might even be considered bad manners to imply our way of life is better than any other. And yet, would we…

Manifesto Club Thinkpieces put our campaigning in broader perspective, exploring the underlying dynamics behind the state regulation of public spaces and informal life. This Thinkpiece by Manifesto Club director Josie Appleton explores the growing hyperregulation of everyday life. There should be large parts of life – in the streets, in our homes, and in informal life – where people organise things among themselves, and set their own rules, and the state intervenes only in the cases of violations or crimes. Over the past 20 years, state regulation has spread into everyday life, meaning that we increasingly conduct ourselves according to official codes…