Issue 152
November 2008
Contents
Come on, people
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Whether or not Barack Obama wins, black America will continue to argue over the "responsibility" debate sparked by Bill Cosby's trenchant views on that failure
Who needs digital privacy?
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
A new generation of digital tracking technologies can now follow your every move, unleashing a world of personalised adverts. Privacy campaigners are furious. But embracing these tools may be the only way to save the media from bankruptcy
How Merck made a killing
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Stockmarket pressure to find "blockbuster" drugs has forced drug companies to push products to market ever more aggressively. In the case of Merck's painkiller Vioxx, this had disastrous and lethal results. This is the story of how a blockbuster backfired
A greedy giant out of control
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
We used to think that finance performed a useful role, shunting capital to the most profitable outlets. Its growth was thus a function of success. But after the crunch, a new generation of critics, such as Paul Woolley, are challenging this thesis
Misreading the Taliban
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
The west is losing in Afghanistan in part because it misreads its Taliban opponents. Understanding who they are is the only basis for future negotiations
Mission implausible
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
I joined the UN as a youthful idealist, but ended up testifying to Congress on the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. For all its good intentions, the UN is broken and unfixable
Should capitalism be transformed?
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Is the market system broken? If so, the state should intervene much more. Or will the system bounce back after a few minor adjustments?
What crisis? This is creative destruction
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Is this the end of capitalism? No, this is how capitalism works. But we must get smarter at lending to poor people
Pay-as-you-go finance
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
We'll never get rid of booms and busts. But a Tobin tax on capital transfers would at least help us pay for the bad times
The shock of the new
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
There's no direct historical parallel to the credit crisis. It is a novel shock—but it won't be as bad as the depression
Keynes is back
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Keynes fell from favour because he didn't believe in iron laws that predicted human behaviour. Now he looks prescient
London can take it
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
There may be a slowing of financial globalisation. But neither Anglo-American finance nor the City can be written off
I lost my savings in Iceland
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
I thought I was being clever saving £90. In fact, it nearly cost me £20,000
A premier league for democracy?
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
The UN is ineffectual partly because many of its members are not held accountable—even by their own citizens. Would a new league of democracies be a good idea?
Mowing the lawn
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
The Taliban is not just a home-grown Afghan problem, but it will require a partly Afghan solution. If we don't recognise this now, the country will end up in a worse state than Iraq
We all need digital privacy
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Peter Bazalgette's apologia for dangerous new internet tracking technologies fails to realise that, without privacy protection, our economy will suffer
Good business has a bad crunch
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
This era's greatest episode of financial irresponsibility almost brought capitalism to its knees. But the corporate responsibility movement wasn't paying attention
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
The financial crisis is threatening American economic hegemony and already the next challenger for global influence—China—is taking advantage
China takes advantage
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
The financial crisis is threatening American economic hegemony and already the next challenger for global influence—China—is taking advantage.
Playing the long game
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
The Tories have everything to gain from a Scottish independence referendum in 2010: the SNP, and New Labour, have everything to lose
Finishing fourth
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
The Greens are decentralised, disorganised and in danger of losing ground in the battle to remain Britain's fourth party
A good recession
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
A downturn wouldn't be a bad thing if we could clean up financial excess without returning to the early 1980s
The problem with PC PCs
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Ian Blair resigns, and the Metropolitan police remains as racially divided as ever
Anyone for realpolitik?
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Britain's foreign policy, like its banks, has run out of capital. Time for a more realistic approach
Nature good, humans bad?
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Nature writing is still split between those who want to describe or preserve the earth
An Asian whitewash
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Ziauddin Sardar's latest book touches on many of the most troubling questions at the heart of what it means to be a British Asian in the 21st century. But his blinkered adherence to the politics of resentment means it contains few useful answers
Heaven scent
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
An extraordinary new book shows that behind the marketing cliches, perfume can still be an art of pure beauty
Two cheers for democracy
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
In his grand study of Britain's democratic traditions, David Marquand offers a history that is also a masterclass in politics
The peaceful xenophobes
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Two new studies of empire and nationalism should make us think again about conflating xenophobia, nationalism and aggression
Private view
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Egg junkies, pooing cats, Rolex watches and minimalist mountains—Charles Avery's art seems silly enough to laugh at. Has the art world been duped?
Widescreen
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
He made Fred Astaire dance on the ceiling and Gene Kelly sing in the rain. But Stanley Donen's later work was as dark as Caravaggio's. What changed?
Performance notes
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
His work is wildly popular, yet little is known about Brahms—something John Eliot Gardiner is busy changing. Plus, the genius of Britten's pacifism
Smallscreen
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
There's nothing real about "reality" TV these days. Which is why we should just let Supernanny loose on The Family and see what happens
Shadow of candles flickering red
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Music helped Chen Wei to survive the cultural revolution. But it also brought him an unexpected lesson in desire
Washington Watch
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
It looks like President Obama. If so, would he get more than one term? Would he really appoint Republicans to his cabinet? And does this mean Palin is favourite for 2012?
Common law
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
The case against the defendant was overwhelming. There was stolen merchandise in his yard and in his mobile home. His dad was his only alibi. But still he wouldn't confess
China café
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Years of authoritarian rule have made China into a "me first" society. But among my neighbours, manners survive. Plus, the highway patrol and the end of the tourist season
This sporting life
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Big money sports will feel the pinch in the downturn, but at least motor racing can look to Palestine for inspiration. Plus, what the Tampa Bay Rays could teach Hank Paulson
Comment (1)Lab report
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
Reviewing the "crisis" in British physics. And the work of Nobel-winning Japanese physicists is not as obscure as it seems—it's about why there is more than one single thing
Brussels Diary
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
The EU had a bad start to the financial crisis, thanks to go-it-alone Ireland, but has since provided pro-Europeans with something to cheer about. Just not Charlie McCreevy
The Prisoner
23rd November 2008 — Issue 152
I rather like this new prison. And being imprisoned has many benefits—I have lost weight, made friends and learned a tremendous amount. I may even be happy here