From parking wardens generating record profits for councils through to bans on smoking and busking, the authorities are making more and more previously normal activities illegal or subject to onerous regulation. Yet it is not clear who benefits from this micromanagement of our lives.
Here, Josie Appleton talks about her new book, 'Officious: The rise of the Busybody State', which examines the causes and consequences of this trend.
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Understanding Modi's India
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Square-eyed screenagers: are phones corrupting our kids?
Disunited Kingdom: the rebirth of nations?
Is AI the end of art?
The politics of hate: is everyone a bigot but me?
Should we leave the European Convention on Human Rights?
Power play: who really rules today?
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Deifying diversity: a value for our times?
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