capitalism

In January, Hillary Clinton still possessed the benefit of the doubt. Memories of her and Bill snarling at Barack Obama in 2008 had faded, and despite her long and dreadful record, it's always possible to turn over a new leaf. But Clinton's ongoing response to Bernie Sanders shows why she is unfit for the presidency. Even as the frontrunner, Hillary shows no leadership ability; she, too, follows Sanders, trailing him to the left as he takes meaningful positions on issues like income inequality and campaign finance reform. Her saccharine smile says "I can do that too!" but truly she should be…
The story starts off predictably enough for a grandiose adventure: a wizard, a prophecy, an unwitting hero.  Emmet is just a model construction worker, living his city life to the tee by following every rule in the book.  He is manically happy just to be doing it right: greeting his alarm clock with a smile, doing some calisthenics, watching his favorite sitcom before heading out for an overpriced coffee and a fulfilling day on the job.  He feels like he has friends, that he's part of something.  Then a mysterious woman who's obviously not playing by the rules leads him to fall down an…
                  There is a wonderful article in the Daily Mail featuring the famous photos of Lewis Hines that helped bring about Child Labor laws.  Well worth a look at these incredibly important images.
I admit, maybe because of that intellectual slowdown that the cold weather and dark days call, but I'm confused about which one of these is the real Onion Headline - that thing about the Brookings Institute guy or a BBC headline that reads "World Bank Leads Economic Push on Nature Protection." Really? Seriously? The World Bank? Are we sure this isn't April Fools, not Halloween? But no, it is serious. Or at least trying to be: The World Bank has launched a global partnership aimed at helping countries include the costs of destroying nature into their national accounts. Ten nations will…
In the op-ed pages of The Washington Post today, Elliot Gerson--the American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust--takes a bold stand: Tonight, 32 young Americans will win Rhodes Scholarships. Their tenures at Oxford are funded by the legacy of the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes, a man whose life would not be honored today were it not for his vision that young people of outstanding intellect, leadership and ambition could make the world a better place. For more than a century Rhodes scholars have left Oxford with virtually any job available to them. For much of this time, they have overwhelmingly…
The dark side of Dubai: "The thing you have to understand about Dubai is - nothing is what it seems," Karen says at last. "Nothing. This isn't a city, it's a con-job. They lure you in telling you it's one thing - a modern kind of place - but beneath the surface it's a medieval dictatorship." The article isn't fair at all. It isn't meant to be. But it does give one a window into the peculiar paradoxes of Dubai, and in a hyper-charged manner the effect of naked capitalism upon human societies over the past 200 years.
Lines were drawn in the sand, artillery stood armed and ready, and tensions ran high. Neither side was willing to budge, and despite the seemingly endless conflict having already tested the resolve of both sides, it looked like things were only just beginning to get rough. The whole scenario was regrettable--war always is--but it felt inevitable at the time. Besides, how else was I going to get internet access in my house? Wars are fought for a variety of reasons: for power or territory, for religions or ideologies, for oil, and so on. I had never counted the internet among those, but in…
From the archives: (13 March 2006) If sellers are allowed to compete freely without any regulations, market forces will inevitably drive down prices and improve the quality of services so that everyone wins, even the consumer--or so the dogma goes. Life is rarely so simple, and markets don't always behave so predictably. In the case of energy, in fact, deregulation has had the opposite effect, catalyzing massive price increases. Although this is not a new phenomenon, Sunday's Washington Post details some of the more recent problems consumers have faced after buying into deregulation…
From the archives: (17 February 2006) I'll be honest with you: I really don't know what to think about drug companies. I'll give them some credit, since unlike many of their peers they produce a product that is useful to society and has important humanitarian implications. I want to like them--I really do--but when I read about things like this, it becomes pretty difficult. On 15 February, The New York Times published a detailed account in its business section on the exorbitant prices some pharmaceutical companies are willing to charge for their therapies. The report focused on Avastin,…
From the archives: (21 January 2006) I had a great trip to the doctor the other day. I showed up for my appointment (one I had made only one day before), waited a few minutes, saw the doctor, and then I left. There was no paperwork, no long wait, no money exchanged, and no stress. Basically, there was nothing standing in the way of what I had come there for--medical care. And, no, I don't live in some fantasy world. I live in England. I love universal health care, and for me it's because of the small things. I never had any major problems with my health insurance in the U.S., but I still…
As my own department faces budget shortfalls and considers increasingly extreme measures to improve the situation, I thought it would be appropriate to bring back this post from the archives. The following post explores the results and interpretation of a recent study that found that university scientists are turning their laboratory results into profits more than previously thought. (13 April 2006) According to a study released earlier this week, more scientists are commercializing their work that previous measures indicated. In a study funded by the pro-entrepreneurship Kauffman…