Christian Aspalter (BNU-HKBU): Different Worlds of Welfare Capitalism: Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong and Singapore. A look at how trivial decisions will impact your happiness. From TPM, here are your nominees for the 2010 Golden Duke Awards. You can tell a lot from the names of cars. How much disturbance can a system withstand? With roots in ecology and complexity science, resilience theory can turn crises into catalysts for innovation. Over long haul, money doesn’t buy happiness: "Easterlin Paradox" revisited. A review of Capital Offense: How Washington's Wise Men Turned America's Future Over to Wall Street by Michael Hirsh. Walter Donway previews the Atlas Shrugged movie. The Intellectual Value of Caring: Sure, feeling can cloud thinking, but it can also inspire it. Groupon Clipping: What’s the right price for the hot new thing? From NYRB, a review of Newman’s Unquiet Grave: The Reluctant Saint by John Cornwell. A new look at classic 19th-century Victorian novels reveals an understanding of behavior that largely mirrors the findings of modern psychological research. From The Awl, Maria Bustillos on Wikileaks and the dangers of hubris. Jamais Cascio on "neodicy", an articulation of futurology as a philosophical approach, not simply a tool for business or political strategy. We really do believe we’ve got more free will than the other guy.
