From Daedalus, Daron Acemoglu on the Economic Origins of Democracy. Adam Parsons on the end of economic growth. A review of The Real Wealth of Nations by Riane Eisler. Shock of the new: The economic impact of information technology will take decades to become clear. James Surowiecki on how technology is supposed to make our lives easier, allowing us to do things more quickly and efficiently. But too often it seems to make things harder. Technology drives the forces of globalization. But when we replace our computers and flat-screens with the newest in high-tech cool, what happens to the hardware we throw away? Welcome to the digital dumping ground, where the poor make a living off other people’s spare parts. From Freezerbox, The Bored Whore of Kyoto: European johns line up to tap Russia's carbon reduction potential; and did lefty pundit Alexander Cockburn and corporate behemoth General Motors secretly agree to swap climate positions? A look at how the rightists want all of Earth's worth; some greens side with them. An interview with May Berenbaum on the role of cellphones, pesticides and alien abductions in the honeybee crisis.
From Think Tank, an interview with Anne Applebaum, author of The Gulag: A History. From The Moscow Times, a review of Comrades! A History of World Communism by Robert Service. Love me, I'm a liberal: A review of Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: The New Liberal Menace in America by Stephen Marshall. Al Gore suggests that we cannot have both television and democracy in The Assault on Reason (and an interview). The struggle among conservatives to define their movement in the post-Bush era may be getting more attention these days, but liberal intellectuals and writers are doing some soul-searching of their own. William Vollman on The Great Exception: For hundreds of years, the rules didn't seem to apply to America the Perfect.
A review of Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purity by Virginia Smith and The Cleaning Bible: Kim and Aggie’s Complete Guide to Modern Household Management by Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie (and more). Breaking Free of Suburbia's Stranglehold: Families simplify lifestyles in quest for meaning that constant hustle obscured. Outsourcing Your Life: Sending work offshore has transformed the U.S. economy. Now, some families are tapping the same approach for personal tasks, getting them done for a fraction of what they'd cost at home. Taking your to-do list global. Growing Up in Public: The conventional wisdom has it that younger people will one day regret disclosing so much personal information online. But the conventional wisdom's wrong. Volunteer Blues: What if helping people doesn’t make you feel better? From American Sexuality, Mad About You: An article on modern day stalking, and old fashion passion; and The Invisible Woman: Is acknowledging the biological divide key to achieving equality between the sexes? When everyone is offended by mere words, language’s real victims lose out.
An article on weird drinking laws of the USA. Fear of Frying: Here's brief history of trans fats. The Science of Appetite: There's a lot more to feeling hungry than you think. New research into what drives us to eat may teach us how to control the urge; and How the World Eats: In the face of Westernization, families across the globe are abandoning traditional diets and dining habits. With summer about to begin, four people artists, architects and designers — imagine playgrounds that could attract the modern adolescent. New Yorkers — as well as all Americans faced with anti-dance restrictions — should stand up and take action. A record number of Americans own pets—and they are spending a record amount of money feed, clothe and care for their wee beasts. But is all the attention actually good for the critters?
