From Monthly Review, Samir Amin on "market economy" or oligopoly-finance capitalism. From Dissent, the only way to mitigate the effects of the recession will be a massive, expansionary fiscal policy. From Hoover Digest, Gary Becker on the free market’s trial by fire: What happens in the coming year will shape how the world regards competitiveness, privatization, and international free trade and markets; should the United States stamp out threats abroad even when other nations refuse to act? Abraham D. Sofaer investigates; why the study of war is so fascinating — and so necessary: An interview with Victor Davis Hanson; and A is for African-American, Z is for zeitgeist and U is for the big unknown: Tunku Varadarajan on a political alphabet. A new black president and the deepening economic crisis are creating the perfect storm for racist groups intent on swelling their ranks. An excerpt from Privacy and Social Freedom by David Schoeman. From The Washington Monthly, rethinking your opposition to nuclear power? Rethink again; does the reform of a small agency herald the return of competent government oversight? An article on the state of street art: Vandalism or legit, it's not going away. Medicine's Miracle Man: Maurice Hilleman's remarkable period of industrial scientific research yielded the most cost-effective medicines ever made.

From Lacan.com, an interview with Alain Badiou on communism; and Slavoj Zizek on Beckett with Lacan (and part 2). A review of Ricoeur and Lacan by Karl Simms. From Prospect, on the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species, new research reveals that Darwin was driven to the idea of common descent by a great moral cause. Paul Waldman on what we talk about when we talk about Obama; and President Obama acknowledged nonreligious Americans in his Inaugural Address — will his administration re-separate church and state? Yard Sale Nation: James Howard Kunstler on why the change required to salvage U.S society runs much deeper than most imagine. Revolution Books in Chelsea continues to operate and prepare for the time when the system collapses. There is a distinct possibility that, within our lifetimes, robots will be everywhere—taking out the trash, day-tripping to Mars, winning the Nobel prize. Daniel Levy reviews Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East by Martin Indyk. Rabbit at Rest: John Irving remembers Updike; and the best of Updike, the worst of Updike, and why the two are connected. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt on John Updike, a lyrical writer of the middle-class man — and a literary high priest of sex and suburbia. No one captured Pennsylvania's light and landscape as Updike did.

From the inaugural issue of Interface: A Journal for and about Social Movements, Mayo Fuster Morell (EUI): Action Research: Mapping the Nexus of Research and Political Action; the mirror stage of movement intellectuals?: A review essay on Jewish criticism of Israel and its relationship to a developing social movement; and a review of Praxis and Politics: Knowledge Production and Social Movements by Janet Conway. From NDPR, a review of Philosophy and Real Politics by Raymond Geuss; and a review of Nietzsche's Political Skepticism by Tamsin Shaw. From First Principles, Gary Lawson on Limited Government, Unlimited Administration: Is it Possible to Restore Constitutionalism? From Education Review, a review of Those Who Dared: Five Visionaries Who Changed American Education. From IRB, a review of Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America by Laurence Maslon and Michael Kantor; more on Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines by Richard A. Muller; and more on Real Education by Charles Murray. A review of Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin by Norah Vincent. Freedom looms for terrorist: In less than a month, the 63-year-old Khalid Duhham Al-Jawary is expected to be released. The worst pop singer ever: Why, exactly, is Billy Joel so bad?

From NYRB, a review of The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West by Edward Lucas; a review of Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid;  and Roger Cohen in eyeless in Gaza. Rotten in the state of Denmark: Was Tycho Brahe murdered by a contract killer? It’s written all over your face: To potential mates, your mug may reveal more than you think. Nobel laureate Gerald Edelman on how your brain is one-of-a-kind in the history of the universe. It's biased, gruesome, and totally compelling: How Al-Jazeera makes one American think differently about war. An except from Europe Between the Oceans, 9000 BC-AD 1000 by Barry Cunliffe. From American Sexuality, a look at how neuroscience changed the definition of "addiction" and shed light on sex addiction disorders; and an article on Goth, wannabe, and Christian sexuality. From American Diplomacy, needed: A unitary diplomatic service of the USA. A review of Elsewhere, USA: How We Got From the Company Man, Family Dinners and the Affluent Society to the Home Office, BlackBerry Moms and Economic Anxiety by Dalton Conley (and more from Bookforum). A review of Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis (and more).