Better Integration: The Lesson of the Boston Bombings?
Just the other day I was having this rather unusual conversation with one of my American friends. I was fascinated at the depth of ‘philosophical’ ideas he had about multiculturalism [...]
Region usa
Can Washington Fix the Economy?
Panelists at the Bertelsmann Foundation’s economic conference do not see much opportunity for progress in Washington DC; however, this might not be as bad as many think. Can gridlock be good if it prevents the government from doing too much harm?
INCRA: Rating the United States
Our blogger Josh Grundleger reports about the Bertelsmann Foundation’s fifth annual conference which focuses on economic growth through innovation, global financial governance and the eurozone crisis: “System Upgrade: Time for [...]
Certain about Uncertainty
Our blogger Josh Grundleger reports about the Bertelsmann Foundation’s fifth annual conference which focuses on economic growth through innovation, global financial governance and the eurozone crisis: “System Upgrade: Time for [...]
The Partisan Divide
Our blogger Josh Grundleger reports about the Bertelsmann Foundation’s fifth annual conference which focuses on economic growth through innovation, global financial governance and the eurozone crisis: “System Upgrade: Time for [...]
City Living
A citizen and his State. This relationship is at the forefront of discussion as the welfare state tests its limits and migration patterns become increasingly metropolitan. Thanks in particular to [...]
The Illusion of the Welfare State
Western cultures have developed an illusion of the welfare state. The US and Europe must correct this cultural misperception of what a welfare state can and cannot accomplish before they can successfully address its economic problems.
Crossing Borders For Health: Mexico and the USA
When you consider what nations have the most effective health care systems, most Mexicans think of countries like Cuba, where the welfare state provides comprehensive general medicine, or France, where [...]
Contradictions in a Two-Tiered Nation
Health care in the U.S. is treated more like a consumer good than a right for all people—regardless of age, race, class, or sex. In fact, the health care industry [...]
Designing our very own American Dream
Growing up in Central and South America, we were raised on tales of the “American Dream”: how an immigrant could go to the USA and before long have a house, [...]
At Risk of the Flu
“Only a crisis- actual or perceived- produces real change”- Milton Friedman In September 2011, Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Centre stood at a scientific conference in Malta and announced [...]
Lighting a Fire in the Economy
An economy is, in many ways, like a forest. It is constructed by opposing and necessary forces that together strengthen the whole. Without the destructive, the constructive would cease to exist. Without fire, the forest would choke on its own excess. Without economic downturn and job loss, so would an economy.
Transformational Diplomacy: Liberalism, not democracy
On January 18, 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a new foreign policy called transformational diplomacy. Challenging old assumptions that the domestic character of other countries did not matter for [...]
The Whole Enchilada
9/11 not only changed American discourses on security but also modified the US- Mexican relations and with it its promises of a fair accomplishment of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) regarding immigration and trade
Adding Insult to Injury: Natural Disasters and the Poor
As Hurricane Sandy made landfall in my home state of New Jersey, eight members of my immediate family and myself were huddled in our basement. Power was out and there [...]
Why They Are Afraid
Barely a week into London’s post-Olympic stupor, before the stardust had settled, a lanky, middle-aged man emerged on the ground-floor balcony of a white stucco-fronted, red-brick building on Hans Crescent, [...]
Conflict is Here to Stay
Conflict is an innate aspect of human nature and thus inevitable. Man can never realistically avoid every single point of discord. Different perspectives, disagreements, divergent values, competing goals, and overlapping claims will always exist. Individuals, and the states they construct, in the quest to achieve their goals, will thus indubitably come to loggerheads. To ignore this fact is to lead policymakers, and the people who they are supposed to protect, down a dangerous path.
Shutting down the Internet
Despite the widespread opposition, however, it remains likely that similar legislation will still be considered
How the Internet is Changing Hate Groups
57% of hate crime incidents were about race or ethnicity issues
Anticipating Catastrophe
This summer I was on a flight from Australia to Japan. I took my shoes off at security, just like I always do. But this time, my gesture drew little [...]
Wars for democracy or flaws of capitalism?
Politicians, scholars and philosophers have been debating the origins of war and peace for a very long time. There is no common solution and no shared viewpoint on this matter. [...]
Don’t Destroy Your Home (and Other Ideas on Happiness)
The notion that economic growth is inherently beneficial for society is deeply entrenched dogma in the United States. The primary (indeed, almost sole) metrics of our nation’s health and success [...]
Energy Efficiency: An Introduction to a Golden Opportunity
As cities around the world continue to grow, so too will their unquenchable thirst for energy. Meeting this demand will be challenging, especially if we’re going to do so in [...]
Backwards Steps For American Democracy
New rules in several U.S. states make it harder for many citizens to vote. The rules – which include restrictive voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements, reduced early voting [...]
The Planet Needs Our Help
When it comes to big planet-scale environmental issues like climate change, some people dismiss individual actions like driving less or eating less meat. They say that our actions aren’t important, [...]
