Issue 135
June 2007
Contents
For richer and for poorer
30th June 2007 — Issue 135Two new books offer contrasting explanations for why some countries fail to develop: one blames culture, the other trade liberalisation. Though both analyses are flawed, neither can be dismissed. Attitudes in poor countries often do need to change, while protectionism can play a role in helping Africa to industrialise
The democracy of Don Quixote
30th June 2007 — Issue 135Novelists have always turned their hands to essays, and the essay-writing novelist remains a literary force to be reckoned with. The two forms share an inherent pluralism and scepticism that makes them natural allies of democracy
Tax credits: the success and failure
30th June 2007 — Issue 135The story of Gordon Brown's tax credits policy is a mixed one. Billions have been directed to the low-paid, helping to take the edge off rising inequality. But the failure of the policy's architects to consider its real-world application has impeded successful delivery
A Cuban death rehearsal
30th June 2007 — Issue 135With Fidel Castro apparently on the verge of death, I returned to Cuba to visit old friends. Little has changed over recent years and life for most Cubans remains harsh. Yet western visitors continue to romanticise the place
My brother the bomber
What turned Mohammad Sidique Khan, a softly spoken youth worker, into the mastermind of 7/7?
Comment (29)Towards the day
Prospect's Thomas Pynchon correspondent is battling his way through "Against the Day"—and recording the experience
Mary Douglas remembered
The anthropologist Mary Douglas, who has died aged 86, produced a framework for understanding society that should be part of the mental furniture of every educated adult
What Luttwak didn't say
Edward Luttwak is right that the middle east is not important enough to fight over. That's why the US should withdraw from Iraq and stop providing aid to Israel
Myths of British ancestry revisited
Stephen Oppenheimer responds to readers' questions and comments on his October 2006 article on British ancestry
First Drafts—the Prospect blog
Prospect's editorial blog is now live, and you can read it here
Open letter to Tariq Ramadan
Last week the Islamic scholar and reformer Tariq Ramadan argued in the Guardian for an end to calls on British Muslims to integrate. Here, Prospect editor David Goodhart replies
The Washington folly
Paul Collier's review of my book failed to take into account the disastrous effect on developing countries of following the advice of the IMF and World Bank
Gormley's spaces
Antony Gormley's Hayward exhibition stimulates the mind and senses—and may even provide a refutation of artificial intelligence
Why Sidique?
There's more to extremist Islam than crises of identity
The psychology of bombers
What can psychological research tell us about why some people turn to violent extremism?
March of the HiBrits
30th June 2007 — Issue 135For 50 years, the children of Irish immigrants have been the most important innovators in England's popular culture
Gordon's go
30th June 2007 — Issue 135Tony Blair's departure leaves much constitutional business unresolved. It's up to Gordon Brown to finish the job
Against unhappiness
30th June 2007 — Issue 135Paul Ormerod is splitting hairs over methodology. People want to be happy, and politicians should try to help
Defending Hodge
30th June 2007 — Issue 135The belief that those who have lived in a community longest should have housing priority isn't racist
Challenging Chomsky
30th June 2007 — Issue 135Universal grammar is the most important theory in linguistics. Has the language of one tribe now disproved it?
An unusual oilman
30th June 2007 — Issue 135John Browne turned BP into the oil industry's leanest machine, but his cost-cutting now looks like a liability
End of the book postponed
30th June 2007 — Issue 135Technology is not yet changing our reading habits. But the electronic book, the rise of the online retailer, the blog and the print-on-demand book all provide real challenges for booksellers and publishers, and some may not survive. Still, the future of the book itself looks bright
Chaos and horror
30th June 2007 — Issue 135Don DeLillo, an undoubted master, has a gift for creating an atmosphere of inchoate dread. Yet his latest novel feels flat and static and lacks a sense of purpose. At least it has a superb ending
Life on planet Boyle
Mark Cousins looks at Danny Boyle's varied and innovative career
Lives not led
30th June 2007 — Issue 135Hard-headed and surprisingly right wing, Lionel Shriver does not fit the conventional image of a novelist. Her latest work is a subtle examination of the difficulties of decision-making.
The poverty of liberalism
30th June 2007 — Issue 135The individualism and universalism of western political elites are on a collision course with the popular desire for moorings in time and place. The nation state cannot be replaced by global norms
Private view
The work and public images of Tracey Emin, Sophie Calle and Isa Genzken conform eerily to national stereotype. Which of these artists will become Miss Venice biennale 2007?
Between the lines
Cormac McCarthy's dislike of publicity has made him one of the commanding absences of American letters. But the huge success of his latest novel, The Road, may change that for good
Smallscreen
The Apprentice is an absurd caricature of the business world. Why is the BBC so sure the public aren't interested in programmes that enlighten rather than just entertain?
Oration for a dead hero
30th June 2007 — Issue 135My husband died a national hero, exalted by the president. But I know them both for worthless dogs
These islands
Belfast has changed beyond all recognition since the IRA ceasefire. But if you come here for a stag or hen night, leave your novelty water pistol at home
Washington watch
Barack Obama is winning the tussle for top Dem foreign policy strategists, but the party's old farts may yet help Hillary triumph. Plus, bizarre dynamics of the primaries
Inefficient markets
China's stock markets are experiencing a classic speculative frenzy which may lead to a massive crash. And is the spectre of inflation returning to Britain?
Out of mind
False pregnancy syndrome is a surprisingly common condition. Now, with a minor epidemic on the ward, it seems that even doctors may not be immune
France profonde
Unlike his predecessors, Nicolas Sarkozy takes a practical approach to politics. Unfortunately, this seems to mean mythifying the French nation and rewriting history
Rivers of Babylon
Iraqis are indignant about the wall being built around Baghdad's Adhamiya area, site of the Sunni insurgency. But the US is right to proceed; it will save Sunni and Shia lives
Lab report
The only use of the Large Hadron Collider anyone cares about is finding the Higgs particle. But the LHC's opening has been delayed. What if someone else gets there first?
Brussels diary
How well will the new French president get on with the new British prime minister? The British ambassador to the EU isn't going to hang around to find out
Modern manners
Holidays are about becoming enchanted by short-term habits. Noises don't annoy us, and even bus timetables seem fascinating. But then we return, and the spell is broken
