“‘Democracy’ in the abstract misleads us. Living in a democracy—and it is lived experience that must be our theme—becomes a different thing in each generation,” begins Kenneth Minogue.
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P.J. O’Rourke has a clever idea for reviving newspaper sales—the pre-obituary: “official notices that certain people aren’t dead with brief summaries of their lives indicating why we wish they were.”
A new book examines the lives of the Romantic poets in their well-intentioned but ultimately ambiguous morality. It is a case of life imitating art, writes Laura Miller for Slate.
“While taking a more relaxed attitude towards the pursuit of wealth may make sense as a personal philosophy, it is an uncertain guide to public policy,” says the Financial Times.
“When will our media reflect America on abortion?” asks William McGurn at The Wall Street Journal now that a Gallup poll has reported that half of America is pro-life.
Paul Krugman’s recommendation for more public spending is at odds with his own comparison of the U.S. to Japan where aggressive fiscal policy did not stimulate growth, says The New Republic.
THERE is an exhibit more ghastly and gruesome than the tatty stuffed Alsatian dog, awarded the Gustav Husak medal for sinking its teeth into a record number of attempted defectors […]
“Newspapers never made money on ‘news.’ Serious reporting, say from Afghanistan, has simply never paid its way. What paid for newspapers were the automotive sections, real-estate, home-and-garden, travel, or technology, […]
For me going to the mall is like traveling to a foreign country. But somehow I found myself in the Apple store on Saturday, playing with the IPad, the latest […]
An Amazon product review with ellipsis … like this … and a lot of extra punctuation??!? That is, like, so likely to be sincere. I totally mean that, except that […]
Should humans harmonize with nature of seek to manipulate and master it? These two polar views of man’s role on earth could determine whether we survive climate change, says Tikkun.
While Facebook’s current privacy setting have created an outcry, history is filled with examples of social norms conforming to technological developments, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Is China a friendly giant? Despite the fact that North Korea’s aggressive behavior threatens China, the Chinese are so far reluctant to support international action against its neighbor.
Only recently has vegetarianism become a diet that could survive natural selection, so could it be that vegetarians are smarter than the rest of us? Surprisingly strong evidence says yes.
Barry Estabrook says the common knowledge that locally grown food is the most sustainable form of agriculture is incomplete and should allow for regional distribution networks.
Ross Douthat asks why adoption is so difficult while going to a fertility clinic is so easy, especially when children of anonymous sperm donors often have deep psychological dilemmas.
Evolutionary biology may explain differences in mortality risks between genders, says Daniel Kruger at the University of Michigan; men take more risks to attract a mate, i.e. to have sex.
“Nowhere is it written that the United States can never decline,” says Richard Posner in his analysis of the economic problems befalling the E.U. and U.S. He and Gary Becker propose solutions.
In his new book, Clay Shirky says that what we do with our free time is changing: from passive TV watching to active online engagement, we are motivated by a desire for self-fulfillment.
When a college degree no longer guarantees a good job after leaving university, maybe it’s time to be less pragmatic about career choices and prefer a cultural education to a vocational one.
While researching the Botticelli’s Venus and Mars (shown) at the National Gallery, London, David Bellingham, a program director at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, made an interesting discovery. The fruit held […]
A good analysis of the coming newspaper paywalls was recently written in The Financial Times by John Gapper. The London Times and The New York Times have announced their intention […]
High fructose corn syrup, sedentary lifestyles, endocrine disrupting chemical BPA in our plastic water bottles… we’re already up against enough hurdles when it comes to combating the diabetes epidemic. But […]
“He was almost certainly the best-known man in England in the middle of the nineteenth century, and certainly the most loved,” but was Charles Dicken’s internal life as celebratory?
A new pill which a German pharmaceutical company will soon present to the FDA for approval raises medical and safety concerns since it claims to boost women’s libidos.
“Stop focusing on trying to keep illegal immigrants out and start focusing on letting legal immigrants in,” says Steve Chapman in response to hullabaloo over Arizona’s immigration law.
“Drone strikes may not be perfect, but they’re likely the most humane option available,” writes C. Fair who calls for greater transparency in the currently classified drone program over Pakistan.
“Retirement, like other post-industrial inventions like electricity or television, has become a luxury we’ve come to expect and rely upon,” says the Economist, but it hasn’t always been this way.
“Can aquatic snails better remember lessons learned when they are hopped up on methamphetamine?” Scientific American says the answer could give insight into the nature of addiction.
“The things patients complain about, like excessive noise, may be more than a nuisance. They may actually be bad for their health,” writes Drake Bennett on noise pollution in hospitals.