Now we are five. The magazine was launched in November 2019. Since then there have been two general elections, four prime ministers and three Tory leadership contests. 

Our focus, happily, has never been on anything as ephemeral as just politics however. Life is art, and as we said when we launched, the point of criticising it was to appreciate it still more fully and honestly.

In our pages this month Pierre d’Alancaisez charts the lot of the modern art critic. The lack of courage and self-respect, and even basic belief in their own purpose, is self-evident for far too many members of the critical fraternity.

But above all else — beyond even the churlish or ignorant or fearful rejection of criticism by its subjects — what is on display here is the death of discernment. A chronic refusal by those with taste to exercise it. A rejection of the idea that standards exist and that judgments can be made. This is the betrayal from above that we have had most cause to lament in the first five years of our existence.

In Oxford, as the interview with Nigel Biggar by our editors sets out, an effort is being made to uphold standards — to maintain the purpose of the University. Those who wish it well can only cheer on initiatives such as the Pharos Foundation.

Elsewhere in this issue, we see that Britain’s problems are hardly unique. France suffers as we do. Our answer? Criticise the problem. The alternatives — ignoring it, denying it, fantasising about it — have all been tried and none have worked.

What Pharos suggests, and hopes, is that a few people can make a difference. Our critics, and their reviews, are the beating heart of this magazine. What they do, above and beyond politics, is civilised life. It’s what we stand for and our plan is go on doing just that.