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Ancient and modern

Diogenes vs Theresa May

15 October 2016

9:00 AM

15 October 2016

9:00 AM

‘If you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere,’ proclaimed Theresa May in a speech to the Conservative party conference. Oh dear! And her a vicar’s daughter too!

‘Cosmopolitan’ derives from the ancient Greek kosmos ‘world’ plus politês, ‘enfranchised member of a polis, citizen’. It was a word used by the 4th century BC philosopher Diogenes to describe himself when he was asked where he came from.

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