Punks grow old
From Essays in Philosophy, Per Bauhn (Kalmar): The End of Duty; and Eric Smaw (Rollins): From Chaos to Contractarianism: Hobbes, Pojman, and the Case for World Government; and a review of Inhuman Conditions: On Cosmopolitanism and Human Rights by Pheng Cheah. Paul Rogers on the latest SWISH Report: In light of Barack Obama's victory in the United States presidential election, the al-Qaida movement once more solicits advice from the renowned management consultancy. The US has power — what it needs is authority. A look at how the US can fix its damaged reputation abroad. More on The American Future: A History by Simon Schama. Jeffrey Sachs on how to rebuild America: The era of small government is dead — we need a strong, skillful Washington again to start rebuilding America from the ground up (and an interview). In search of answers to his country's financial crisis, Charles P. Pierce goes to a place where he, and only he, can control his gains and losses. Robert Hepple on the right to equality, then and now. Sinclair on James Bond, the genius of Ian Fleming's literary creation. From the Annals of Improbable Research, can punks grow old gracefully? Millions once moved to California for its boundless promise, but time has not been kind to the Golden State. Here are 5 ways to stop trolls from killing the Internet.
Can science save the world?
From NYRB, a review of Can't Remember What I Forgot: The Good News from the Front Lines of Memory Research by Sue Halpern; and a review of books on Iraq. Detroit's Big Three are a national disgrace — but we still need to save them. From Counterpunch, RIP: the Experts, 1929-2008. Ed Kilgore on the anatomy of conservative self-deception. Three conservatives plot the future of the GOP, and handicap the chances of Sarah Palin and other 2012 contenders. The green conservative: An interview with Jim DiPeso of Republicans for Environmental Protection. Are human beings hard-wired to ignore the threat of catastrophic climate change? Can science save the world? Martin Rees investigates. From Science News, an article on how to (really) trust a mathematical proof. What really drew Russia and Georgia into conflict this summer? James Rubin wants to know. Of Genital Thieves: Andrian Kreye on the exploration of economic irrationality. Michael Perelman on the hegemony of Internet porn. From TLS, longitude forged: How an eighteenth-century hoax has taken in Dava Sobel and other historians. Selective Testing: Does Big Pharma stand to gain the most from new genetic tests for drug therapy? When the deity knows you're dead: How do different religions define death? A review of The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic.
There’s nothing to it
From Blogging Heads, Anne-Marie Slaughter and Stephen Walt debate Foreign Policy: Year One. From Progressive to Liberal Internationalism: An article on Congressional liberals and the making of a postwar consensus. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (and three other administration veterans) discuss what President Obama will inherit — and what to look out for. Peter Singer on Obama’s global ethical challenges. Slavoj Zizek on why cynics are wrong: The sublime shock of Obama’s victory. A review of A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books by Alex Beam (and more and more and more). An innovative business model plus cross-platform software means that home-made books need never go out of print. A review of On the Side of the Angels: An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship by Nancy Rosenblum. So what do you do, Dan Savage, alt-weekly editorial director/columnist? Racism is the wrong frame for understanding the passage of California's same-sex marriage ban. Zen and the Art of New York Times Headline Writing: There's nothing to it, except when there is. Ronald Bailey on the food miles mistake: Saving the planet by eating New Zealand apples. From JBooks, what do Jewish-American writers need (really need)? A look at how online games are solving uncomputable problems.
The last, best place on Earth
From Intelligent Life, an article on the rise of the journo-gurus. From The New Yorker, a better brew: An article on a the rise of extreme beer; Elizabeth Kolbert on how Bush is rewriting the rules; the perils of efficiency: James Surowiecki on how we created the food crisis; and are violins the last safe investment? Daniel Menaker wants to know. Here are three reasons why Monopoly is the perfect symbol of the financial crisis. The best book of 2008, a masterpiece?: A review of 2666 by Roberto Bolano (and more and more; and from Bookforum, an excerpt from Bolano’s Nazi Literature in the Americas and a review of The Savage Detectives). From New York, the “Bitch” and the “Ditz”: How the Year of the Woman reinforced the two most pernicious sexist stereotypes and actually set women back; building a new WPA: Great architects need a great canvas; New York needs infrastructure; and a lot of people need jobs — a proposal; and for junior capitalists fleeing the financial meltdown, is Dubai, the highly leveraged, hotly speculative Middle Eastern insta-metropolis the last, best place on Earth — or a mirage? A review of The Unprecedented Reach of the Global Citizen by Daniel Drache. Herbert Gintis reviews Jeffrey Alexander's The Civil Sphere and reviews The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt.
