Philip Pullman attacks politicians claiming to know the 'will of the people'

Dark Materials author says that power based on what ‘cannot be questioned’ is ‘extremely dangerous’ at launch of new book The Secret Commonwealth

The Dark Materials author Philip Pullman has attacked politicians for claiming “the will of the people” as a basis for power. “Any political power that rules in the name of something that cannot be questioned is extremely dangerous,” he told fans in London on Wednesday, at the launch of volume two of his Book of Dust trilogy, The Secret Commonwealth.

Pullman also spoke at the Alexandra Palace event about the dangers of being blinkered. Quoting William Blake – “May God us keep / From Single vision & Newtons sleep” – he said that “single vision” was “the kind of vision that only sees the things that can be measured”.

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