Politics & Current Affairs — December 27, 2010

Cass Sunstein: Pragmatic Progressive

There is a great deal to be learned from reading the work of Sunstein. He is a brilliant, intellectually honest legal thinker who understands the history of our 20th-century movement.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Sunstein is a staunch defender of government intervention in economic and social affairs. In The Partial Constitution, After the Rights Revolution (1993), and The Second Bill of Rights (2006), he works diligently to defend the regulatory state against the objection that it artificially appoints winners and losers in place of the free market’s “natural,” “neutral,” “prepolitical” outcomes. The market’s outcomes are not neutral or prepolitical, he insists, but are themselves reflections of the distribution of power in society. There is no such thing as “status quo neutrality.”

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Multiple country flags on poles against a clear blue sky, representing international diversity and unity.

The Present

From global to planetary: Is new governance needed in a post-Holocene world?

The nation-state had a good run, but its usefulness may have come to an end.

Portrait of a smiling man in front of a background featuring chemical structures and molecular models in green and blue hues.

The Present

Inside the battle for FDA approval of MDMA therapy

MAPS founder Rick Doblin speaks to Big Think about the FDA’s rejection of MDMA therapy and the future of psychedelic treatments.

Fifteen colorful emoji faces on a textured background, each capturing different moods like joy, anger, sadness, and surprise.

Business

Heidegger’s “mood theory” explains why you do anything at all

You’re a moody person. You have to be — because understanding moods philosophically can be crucial to your work-life.

A bear attempting to catch a jumping fish near a waterfall.

Nature’s “perfect balance” is a mystery scientists are trying to decode

“While society’s been humming along and enjoying all these advances in agriculture and medicine, in the last 50 or 60 years, ecologists have learned a lot about how nature works. I’ve codified these into a set of rules called the ‘Serengeti Rules.’”

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Could SETI detect a “twin” of Earth?

Earth is actively broadcasting and actively searching for intelligent civilizations. But could our technology even detect ourselves?

Up Next

Technology & Innovation

Lamenting Corporate America

Why is it that people who argue against the government’s role in the economy don’t likewise advocate for the flip side: that corporations should not be allowed to influence government?