[Weekend Special] On the real political power of high-tech public meetings and the deliberative democracy movement. How political consultants are gaining influence and face conflicts of interests. An Austrian defense of corporate greed. From Alternet, on the "thing" economy and the "care" economy, Al Gore's recent speech on freedom and security, and an interview with Paul Krugman. From Jerusalem Post, Peter Berkowitz on Bush and the liberal tradition, and a defense of politicians. Wallerstein on what is realism in Iraq. Mary Kaldor on the democratic option for Iraq. From the Washington Post, Robert Kagan answers questions on Europe and the US. TAP reviews Joseph Stiglitz's The Roaring Nineties. And LA Weekly interviews Gore Vidal

[Nov 14] From The New York Review of Books, on the vanishing case for war in Iraq, on books about Russia, and on Israel: The Alternative (and an exchange). From The Economist, on a rising star in Mexico, on Europe's rebellious regions, and is the Third Wave of democratization about to reach the rest of the world? Why Europe is state of mind. On globalization: "We created it. Let's take it over". Articles on Pakistani identity and existential philosophy, and on Islamic intellectual history as guidance for Islam in the 21st century. A review of Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, and a review of The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea. And Kurt Vonnegut on knowing what's nice

[Nov 13] Paul Weyrich and Randall Robinson on scrapping the Commission on Presidential Debates. Michael Lerner and Cornel West on the US' unfair tilt toward Israel (and a response) Justin Raimondo on Bush as a Trostkyite, and Fareed Zakaria on Bush's plans for the Middle East: "Good--but it will be a long, hard slog." More on Bush Hatred (and a report). Conservatives battle efforts to liberalize the American Catholic Church, since the pope has presided over the radical liberalization of the Catholic hierarchy with its attendant moral corruption. From the Mises Institute, on economics and propaganda (careful, though: the Austrians are an eccentric sect). And The Progress Report on marketing happiness, consuming idealism

[Nov 12] From The Economist, a survey on the United States as "a nation apart" (in 8 parts, with sources). Virginia Postrel rethinks Milton Friedman. From Le Monde diplomatique, how Big Pharma controls medicine, on Israel and apartheid, and re Bolivia, when is a democracy not a democracy? (And more from the left and right). On the resistance of sub - Saharan Africa to competitive individualism, and on adding the finishing touches to the European Social Forum.  How we criticize the hypocrites, but enjoy the fruits of their methods nonetheless. Here's what's really scary about the unreal political reality in the US. A review of The Progress Paradox by Gregg Easterbrook. Hudson Institute's Herbert London on the triumph of the Leviathan. And why the post-modern era began August 6, 1945

[Nov 11] A new issue of Dissent is out, including articles on the domestication of sex, the United Nations, and on foreign policy by Richard Rorty and Michael Walzer. Science Times celebrates 25 years with a series of 25 provocative questions, an article on science journalism, and an essay on the mixed blessing and burden that is science. From First Things, an editorial on the proposed Marriage Amendment, why the Supreme Court might have to get ready to duck, and an exchange on war with Jean Bethke Elshtain. Scientific American asks on its cover story, "Does race exist?" and reviews Power to the People. From In These Times, on the Middle Mind, and on South America and the FTAA. And from The New Criterion, on Godwin, Condorcet and Malthus; Or Why benevolence is bad for you

[Nov 10] In an increasingly secular society, how can we rekindle our faith in the common good? Joseph Stiglitz on corporate liability for human rights. When subsidies to lure business don't pan out. Why claims of Christian victimization ring hollow. On the fundamentals of great reporting. A review of The Posthuman Condition: Consciousness beyond the Brain, and on the ethics of eugenics and nanotechnology. Why we should ignore the flashy graphics and really get inside our computers. And on the politics of sex and gender: How online dating puts structure back into courtship; how all that social - construction - of - gender stuff has gotten passé; on what porn does to men; and on the practice of "corrective rape"

[Weekend Special] Books of the Times: A review of Right to Exist: A Moral Defense of Israel's Wars, a review of Thomas Cahill's Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter, a review of Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin, a review of From Chivalry to Terrorism: War and the Changing Nature of Masculinity, and a review of Indonesian Destinies. Bob Novak on the Federal Reserve wars. Why the GNP is a false measure of a phony prosperity. From the IADB, on the truth about jobs (and part 2) and the link between jobs and economic reform in Latin America (and part 2). And do unions help? Depende. From Green Anarchy, a list of North American political prisoners. Can the use of torture ever be justified? On sexy curves, the unconscious, and seduction. And a report from Friends of the Commons

[Nov 7] Bush compares his foreign policy to Reagan's stance 20 years ago (while some compare him to Baghdad Bob). Zbigniew Brzezinski delivers a critique (and he's not even a liberal!) On the Arab world's skepticism of Bush's democracy claim. Can the US liberate itself from Iraq? A selection of views from the Middle East. On a business school critique of Bush's Iraq management. Daniel Pipes on American aggression. Fred Barnes on Reagan (the alert one) as the father of the pro-life movement.  The Nation on the last disenfranchised class. Ruy Teixeira on the investor class. How seriously should we take the hype about nanotechnology? A short history of ancient astronauts and African tribes. What makes spitting so uniquely offensive? And what makes gay TV so completely fabulous?

[Nov 6] Charles Taylor on seeking sovereignty in Europe and Iraq, Ralf Dahrendorf on The Eighteenth Brumaire of Arnie, and Adam Michnik on John Paul as a revolutionary pope. From TCS, can conservatives be optimists? On the costs of sound money for the EU and the effects of emotions is capital markets. The Brookings Review of the Bush revolution in foreign policy. An article on terrorism as regressive globalization. Why the one-state solution is the only one to entertain for Israel. More on Iraq as Vietnam. Why Bush’s reversal from unilateralism to multilateralism was entirely predictable. Human Events on ten decisions that won the Cold War. An interview with Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade. And make up your mind about who is the craziest of them all in this White House

[Nov 5] From New Dem Daily, the idea of he week: Progressive Internationalism. What's the main problem of think tanks on the Left? More on third party candidates. From inthefray.com, on movements in a new America. Walter Williams on multiculturalism, and Thomas Sowell on Charles Murray. On the politics of lifestyle: a gay adolescence, becoming an adult, work/life balance, the cult of parenthood, choosing not to have kids, feminism and mice, the dreaded midlife crisis, and Cool Britannia. How words often mask sexualized violence. From The Scientist, on the myriad definitions of the self. And Umberto Eco celebrates books and writes on translation's negotiations

[Nov 4] The Supreme Court may become a player in the debate over liberty and security. Does the West have a future? Tariq Ali on Iraqi resistance. A review of Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation Building and a History Denied. Tariq Aziz speaks. Paul Craig Roberts on the Ministry of Rumsfeld. Why we must never forget the truth about communism. From the series "Whose Democracy is it?", on the rise and fall of third parties. On deregulation as politics, why job-creation schemes don't work, how a union can lose its clout, and why foreign investment isn't enough. On when to draw the line over victimless crimes. Why race is a term we should do about. Robert Fisk doesn't believe in objective journalism. For the Daily Mirror a happy birthday? On the politics of children's fashion. And animals may be capable of abstract thought than previously known

[Nov 3] From Philosophy Now, an editorial, on classic American pragmatism, an obituary of Donald Davidson, and a look back at the 21st World Congress of Philosophy. Can philosophers be interesting enough for film? A review of The Faith of George W. Bush. From The New York Times, we live in a manic-depressive economy, and right now we're in the manic phase; how every recession and every recovery has a Nostradamus; on racism and biblical interpretation; on leaping dialectics in a single bound; questions for Noam Chomsky; and a look at Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A review of Machiavelli's Children: Leaders and Their Legacies in Italy and Japan. An essay in the spirit of resistance to animal abuse. A review of Revel's Anti - Americanism. And is commerce blocking the development of science?

[Weekend Special: On Globalization, War and Politics] Ralf Dahrendorf writes about living under occupation. On the art of war vs. the craft of occupation (which seems to include a flat tax). Is Iraq another Vietnam? Or is it just a mess? On the United Nations and its enemies. An interview with Paul Wolfowitz. From The Globalist, an unfinished business by the US. Brad De Long on Bush’s pseudo - conservative revolution. A study on a posture of principled judgment in the intervention debate. More on The New Great Game. There was a time when riveting TV meant intellectual discussions--what went wrong? And when will the fabulous NYPD get to break some left-wing heads like grapes?

http://www.politicaltheory.info/2003/november2.htm