This is the age of the slogan, the soundbite, the snappy phrase in place of considered argument. Thought is dying; reason’s gone critical. In bookshops and magazine racks we’re told only what we want to hear: we’re told it in neat, bullet-pointed affirmations of our own worth.

No more. This is the fightback. The resuscitation. This is the slogan as explainer of the world. One a day for a year. Three hundred and sixty five phrases, soundbites and bullet points with which to make sense of the way things are now and point to how things could be tomorrow. Read them and weep.


Monday

23. Remember the Philosopher's Axe

It’s a paradox: a man has a favourite axe – after a while the head becomes notched and blunted and dull, so he replaces it with a new head. A few years later the handle splits… so he replaces the handle too. Is it still the same axe? It’s a conundrum that has recurred from Plutarch all the way to the rock band The Drifters – which continues to tour despite containing none of the original members. More recently, there is an episode of Only Fools and Horses in which Trigger proudly displays a medal he’s been presented for services to the community by sweeping the streets with the same brush for 20 years. “This old broom’s had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time,” he declares. When someone asks how he can call it the same brush, he points to a photo of him receiving his medal: “Well there’s the bloody picture! What more proof do you need?”
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