From L.V. Anderson’s review of Alison Pearlman’s Smart Casual: The Transformation of Gourmet Restaurant Style in America: Pearlman notes that food-focused publications have increasingly covered issues related to environmentalism, labor, and politics over the last decade—but only “as problems to be solved … Continue reading
Over at The American Prospect, I have a piece up based on the research I did while studying political liberalism in China (courtesy of a fellowship from the U.S. Fulbright program). As part of my research, I interviewed liberal scholars, … Continue reading
Lilia Shevtsova has an essay in The American Interest arguing that American liberals, and Western liberals in general, are no longer a model for liberal reformers around the world: The way liberal democracies are currently trying to revitalize themselves raises … Continue reading
Richard Posner has a review at the New York Times responding to How Much is Enough?, a book by Robert and Edward Skidelsky that makes the argument that society would be better off if we used our wealth to dramatically cut work … Continue reading
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is the latest to jump on the Gross National Happiness bandwagon: The ultimate purpose of economics, of course, is to understand and promote the enhancement of well-being. Economic measurement accordingly must encompass measures of well-being and … Continue reading
Danwei has an interview with Sidney Rittenberg, the first American citizen to join the Chinese Communist Party. Rittenberg lived in China from 1944 to 1975, and spent the time alternating between serving as an adviser to China’s leaders and serving … Continue reading
In a new piece over at The American Prospect, I look at how the political winds have shifted enough that we now have a Democratic political candidate (i.e. President Obama) using abortion as a wedge issue to attack a Republican. … Continue reading
The tiny, ethnically Greek town of Corigliano d’Otranto in Italy has created a new position: an officially designated “Municipal Philosopher,” who hangs around City Hall for philosophical consultation between 3pm and 7pm on Fridays: Lupo [the first one to hold the … Continue reading
There’s a wonderful, very long interview with philosopher T.M. Scanlon posted recently at The Utopian. Scanlon is one of the most respected living philosophers, and has lots to say, but one thing that struck me in particular was his discussion … Continue reading
Over at The American Prospect I’ve written a review of Jeremy Waldron’s new book The Harm in Hate Speech. It’s a good book for making you reconsider some of the sacred cows in the liberal approach to freedom of speech. It’s … Continue reading
