The end of the house of Assad. Much will go wrong. But for now, celebrate a tyrant’s fall
Our number-crunching suggests it was the best-performing rich economy in 2024
Financial innovation is just as much to blame as the technological sort
Even bail-outs are getting expensive
by Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman
In a revelatory book, Farrell and Newman describe how the United States has turned its control over information networks into a hidden tool of economic domination—and warn of the risks of Washington’s weaponization of data power for ordinary people, as well as for the global financial system.read the review
by Sergey Radchenko
In a major reconsideration of Cold War history, Radchenko examines the Soviet Union’s competing ambitions for revolution, security, and legitimacy—and how Soviet leadership, blinded by its own hubris and aggression, set the stage for the downfall of the USSR. read the review
by Alan S. Kahan
Kahan argues that what unifies liberals across the centuries, including those involved in building and defending liberal democracy today, are their efforts to build societies free from the fear of arbitrary power. He sculpts a masterful and beautifully written history of liberalism’s long intellectual journey. read the review
by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
In this sobering study, Levitsky and Ziblatt demonstrate how the United States’ enduring constitutional order—one forged in a pre-democratic age—increasingly thwarts the will of an expanding multicultural majority in favor of a shrinking rural white minority.read the review
by Anne Applebaum
Focused on the sophisticated and networked world of autocracy, dictatorship, and tyranny, Applebaum argues that what separates hardcore autocratic states, such as China and Russia, from softer illiberal and authoritarian regimes, such as those in Hungary, India, and Turkey, is the ruthlessness and reach of their dictatorial power and their deep hostility to the Western-led democratic world.read the review
The gambling frenzy is mostly about people being free to enjoy themselves
It has no government and no budget, and is politically gridlocked
His coup attempt was foiled. But grave tests still remain for the country
The president’s reversal is understandable, hum
Elon Musk is given the ultimate target: America’s Government
It should move before the election
Iran is weak. For America’s next president that creates an opportunity
Governments should help postgraduates get a better deal
Congress is not likely to be much of a constraint on him
Businesses and farmers will be hit with more tax
Olaf Scholz finally runs out of patience with Christian Lindner
Their critics dwell on the dangers and underestimate the benefits
The small screen claims some riveting shows this year, both new and returning
THE HEDGEHOG REVIEW (FALL 2024): This issue’s theme is “In Need of Repair,” and it includes contributions from James Davison Hunter, Nicholas Carr, Martha Bayles, Olivier Zunz, Elias Crim, Aaron Horvath, Paul Scherz, Firmin DeBrabander, and John J. Lennon, as well as other reviews and essays from such contributors as Eugene McCarraher, Alan Jacobs, Paul Nedelisky, Rita Koganzon, Matthew Milliner, and Richard Hughes Gibson.
At the bottom of each of our system dysfunctions is a distinctive cultural disorder emerging from the many pressures of our rapidly modernizing world.
The Material World is no place for humans. By Richard Hughes Gibson
Nihilism’s Grip on American Democracy by James Davison Hunter
If The Economist had a vote, we would cast it for Kamala Harris
A bigger state but an irrational way to fund it
The Communist Party may be hoarding fiscal firepower to offset a possible trade war
It should not be treated as a disorder
The old order is dying. Our geopolitics columnist will tell you what’s coming next
Overcrowding leads to violence. Violence worsens a staffing crisis. A staffing crisis impedes rehabilitation
With two weeks to go, the Republican candidate now has a slight lead
Why Israel is now bombing Lebanese banks
He hopes this week’s BRICS summit will spark a sanctions-busting big bang
Boomers Daily 