From Boston Review, just in time for the holiday season, Alex Byrne on what philosophy has to say about the existence of God, and how believers and skeptics both get it wrong; and time to adapt to climate change: Global warming and its impacts are already at hand; we face immediate choices about how to temper the worst consequences for vulnerable populations and regions. From Vox, an article on post-Columbian population movements and the roots of world inequality (and more on ancestors and incomes). From NBER, a report on the causes of rising income inequality; and a report on understanding fertility within developed nations. From Wired, games without frontiers: Why we need more torture in videogames; and Clive Thompson on how T-shirts keep online content free. The threat of punishment actually does stamp out freeloaders, tending to transform them into rule-following members of a society, a new study suggests. An interview with Thomas Dumm, author of Loneliness as a Way of Life. A review of Outgrowing Democracy: A History of the United States in the Twentieth Century by John Lukacs. New evidence suggests that white supremacists are taking advantage of lowered recruiting standards to enter the armed services. A review of The Constitution and 9/11: Recurring Threats to America’s Freedoms by Louis Fisher.
