History

Off balance

Item: Disorder
Author: Tim Mcminn

The deep roots of our present moment

by Tim McMinn •

July 2022, no. 444

Disorder: Hard times in the 21st century by Helen Thompson

Oxford University Press, $43.95 hb, 384 pp

History

Off balance

The deep roots of our present moment

by Tim McMinn •

July 2022, no. 444

‘It’s a media beat-up,’ our Brooklyn Airbnb host assured me as we chatted on the doorstep one sparkling autumn afternoon in early November 2016. ‘They need to make it seem like a contest or there’ll be no story.’ It would have been rude for me, as an outsider, to demur. I bumped into him once more, ashen-faced the following morning, after Pennsylvania had finally swung to Donald J. Trump, delivering him the presidency. Our conversation was brief; his sense of disorientation palpable.

Tim McMinn

Tim McMinn trained as an engineer at the University of Western Australia and also holds a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Oxford. He previously worked as a climate change and economic development consultant in London, Perth, and Singapore, and prior to that as a structural engineer. He lives in Sydney and works in public policy.