Forums
The Forum is our signature feature, bringing writers, scholars, and activists into dialogue about fundamental issues and pressing challenges.
The New Nature
It is impossible to divorce nature from human influence. Can that influence be democratic?
Anxieties of Democracy
Democracy no longer has rivals, but its fairness and effectiveness face skepticism.
France after Charlie Hebdo
France’s own political traditions can accommodate visible Islam and heal social divisions.
Ferguson Won’t Change Anything. What Will?
Michael Brown shouldn’t be a poster child for social justice movements.
Saving Privacy
Framing surveillance as a tradeoff between privacy and security is a dead end for democracy.
How Finance Gutted Manufacturing
Since the 1980s, financial market pressures have driven companies to hive off activities that sustained manufacturing.
Poems on Surveillance
We invited poets to contribute new works, entering into a larger dialogue on what it means to have open eyes and ears in the twenty-first century. Poems by Armantrout, Ashbery, Bernstein, Pinsky, and others.
What Killed Egyptian Democracy?
The promise of democracy lies in its potential to cultivate political virtue over time. But Egypt’s liberals, unnerved by the policies of the legitimate Muslim Brotherhood government, refused to wait.
The Moral Responsibility of Volunteer Soldiers
Traditional just war theory has it wrong. Soldiers are morally culpable for fighting in unjust wars—and thus deserve the option of selective conscientious objection.
The Truth About GMOs
Genetically modified foods are safe for humans and pose no special environmental risk. Yet there are serious policy questions to consider.
Beyond Blame
The philosophy of personal responsibility has ruined criminal justice and economic policy. It’s time to move past blame.
What Are Foundations For?
Philanthropic institutions are plutocratic by nature. Can they be justified in a democracy?
Can Global Brands Create Just Supply Chains?
Private efforts to improve global working conditions have failed.
Promoting Social Mobility
The accident of birth is a principal source of inequality in America today.
War Is Betrayal, Redux
Any story of war is a story of elites preying on the weak, the gullible, the marginal, the poor.
Sweet Forgiveness
Debt relief is fair. It would also be good for the economy. Why isn’t it happening? Politics.
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