Why Republicans Can’t Just Be Reasonable
Barack Obama urges Republicans to try to find common ground. He shouldn’t expect much.
Political Theory
India’s Internal Clash of Civilizations
A scandal involving India’s telecom minister shows the country needs to recruit a more accountable class of politicians.
Lieberman Finds Strange Parallels He Can’t Explain
The historian of Southeast Asia sees patterns across Eurasia, but can’t really explain them.
Democrats Confounded by Voter Frustration
Americans are unable to “think clearly” in a recession, says President Barack Obama.
The Pragmatist
Obama’s greatest mistake is to be flexible when he shouldn’t but stand on principle when he can’t afford to.
Constitutional Reform Poll Divides Turkey
Turkey’s referendum on constitutional reform is bound to be interpreted as a test for Prime Minister Erdoğan’s conservative government.
Yet Another American Revolution
Calls to a new American Revolution are nothing new to the political right. It will have to do more though.
Freedom of the Press, Speech and Liberty
Independence Day, for me, is symbolic of the ability to freely express opinions; the hallmark of a free society. It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote, in 1791, that, “Government being founded on opinion, the opinion of the public, even when it is wrong, ought to be respected to a certain degree.” In the United States, […]
The Proper Size of Government
A common charge voiced against libertarians is that they should promote social and political anarchy. “Why don’t you move to Somalia?” critics wonder about proponents of limited government as though the poor East African country were a textbook example of a free society. Such rancor misses the point entirely. Laissez-faire doesn’t prosper in lawlessness. A […]
Europe’s Crisis of Confidence
Old Europe is in something of an identity crisis. The specter of European federalism coupled with a widespread unease about Muslim immigration has many Europeans wondering about their nationhood and what it means to be “European” anyway. The financial meltdown and subsequent recession further fractured an already fragile self-image. Foreign immigration and decades of post-colonial […]
The Pursuit of Happiness
With dozens of states lining up to contest the constitutionality of health-care reform as it passed through Congress last week, there is ample reason to take this charge seriously, not treat it as the final breath of a party of sore losers. The states are fighting reform on two counts: first, that the Constitution doesn’t […]
Prime Minister Obama
“President Obama could become de facto Prime Minister Obama.” So much predicts Harlan Ullman, columnist for The Washington Times and a member of the Strategic Advisors Group of the Atlantic Council, at the New Atlanticist. Washington isn’t just “broken,” writes Ullman. The very political foundation of the United States as envisioned in the Constitution has […]
The Decline of States’ Rights
With a population of over three hundred million people and an increasingly diverse set of principles and opinions, the United States has a growth problem. The Founding Fathers predicted this issue and emphasized the importance of local governments. Their logic: that people with similar principles will congregate in similar areas. As members of the overall […]
Life, Liberty and the Right to Property
Since the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal warned that, “Government interventions in financial markets and the automotive sector have raised concerns about expropriation and violation of the contractual rights of shareholders and bondholders” in the United States, it is prudent to explore the necessity […]
The Immorality of Deficit Spending
Keynesian doctrine on deficit spending is still rampant but Americans should consider a warning from one of their Founding Fathers.