“I’m struck by the work of some of the anti-globalization protesters, which has been admirably out-of-the-tunnel in terms of motivation, but naively ill-informed about how the world economy works.” Economist Paul Seabright on how human beings developed a complex system of cooperation and specialization between unrelated individuals.
Tag: international
My personal VE day
“Every German schoolchild knows the tales of German atrocities. But in England, Prince Harry parties with a swastika arm band.” Matthias Matussek wonders whether the time has finally come for the British to re-evaluate their stance.
Power of nightmares re-awakened
“The Power of Nightmares – first screened in Autumn 2004 and repeated this week on BBC2 – questions whether the threat of terrorism to the West is a politically driven fantasy and if al-Qaeda really is an organised network.” Read producer Adam Curtis’ responses to comments from viewers around the world.
Fireworks in Washington, despair around the World
“The president and his speechwriters have yet to confront the tension between their rhetoric about freedom, which is universally popular, and their practice of projecting US firepower, which is resented in equal measure.” Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on the day George Bush began his second term in office.
A global power shift in the making
“The transfer of power from West to East is gathering pace and soon will dramatically change the context for dealing with international challenges—as well as the challenges themselves.” James Hoge highlights some of the main issues facing today’s foreign policy makers in the US and around the world.
The power and the glory
“Divine ordination is a very dangerous idea, especially when combined with military power. With God’s approval, you need no human standard of morality.” Howard Zinn expands on the myths of American exeptionalism.
Nein zum Krieg
Millions around the world were united in protest against going to war in Iraq.
Hamburg, February 2003
The real reasons Bush went to war
“Oil and the dollar were the real reasons for the attack on Iraq, with weapons of mass destruction as the public reason now exposed as woefully inadequate.” A disturbingly coherent explanation put forward by John Chapman.