Issue 156
March 2009
Contents
Citizenship first: the case for compulsory civic service
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Most people think that young people should be asked to give something back. Politicians agree. Yet a compulsory scheme has seemed too ambitious—until now. A civic service scheme could be the legacy of this recession
Comment (2)Interview: Steve Jones
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
The biologist talks about God, Darwin and the end of evolution with John Cornwell
Colonel Iron and the charge of the knights
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Britain's invasion of Iraq has been widely judged a political and military disaster, with the only option left being full withdrawal. But this is not the whole story; and we now have a second chance to get it right
What is a banker worth?
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Attitudes to pay can change sharply from one era to the next. We are now entering a period of greater restraint at the top. But is it just a pause? And how will it be enforced?
The bonus problem
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Bonus bashing is good politics. But is it also good economics?
Philosophy’s great experiment
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Philosophers used to combine conceptual reflections with practical experiment. The trendiest new branch of the discipline, known as x-phi, wants to return to those days. Some philosophers don't like it
Ignatieff: an intellectual in politics
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Michael Ignatieff, the telegenic intellectual and writer, has had three separate careers in three different countries. Now the former presenter of the Late Show is tipped to become the next prime minister of Canada
Anarchy in the Ukraine
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Racing along a bumpy Ukranian highway at over 200km in my friend Sasha's custom-modified Mercedes, I entered eastern Europe's bravest new world
The problem with Britain's mosques
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Many mosques are failing the communities they serve, says the author of a major new report. This is a missed opportunity in the fight against Islamist extremism
A Jewish awakening
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Jews in Britain have never been more culturally confident or politically diverse. Why, then, are so many of their leaders scared?
Why we must learn to love the ICC
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
The ICC's indictment of Sudan's president for war crimes may have done nothing other than ruin his holiday plans. But at least that's a start
Why Guantánamo was a success
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
The Guantánamo Bay detention centre has been widely denounced as a legal and moral failure. Yet for those who created it, its legacy is a triumph
The republic of entertainment
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Two sensibilities battle for control of our culture. The recession might give one the upper hand
The second chance
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Critics say my country can't be saved. But a new push from America and Kabul could work
Female hysteresis
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Women have been the big winners from the boom. But they will lose out most in the bust
Jobs, not shopping
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Protectionism did not cause the depression. Indeed, moderate protection is what we need
A less developed crunch
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Rich economies are in freefall. But things may be a bit brighter for the world's worst off
Google for tunes
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Spotify is a free digital music library that could be the next big thing—and it's legal
Why are Asians so angry?
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
My mum emailed to ask if I'd marched for Palestinian solidarity. How to say I hadn't?
Remote control warriors
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Wars are increasingly fought like video games—sometimes even by teenagers. But at what cost?
The ecstasy and the agony
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Ecstasy is much less dangerous than we thought, say scientists. But politicians are ignoring this
Cut-and-paste writing
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Software that aids thought isn't cheating; it's a legitimate part of the creative process
Post-capitalist utopia
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Is the exclusive TED conference intellectual nirvana—or just a return to high school?
Oh, tell me the truth about beauty
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Roger Scruton may be one of our most important public philosophers, says Jonathan Rée, but he's also a dab hand at popular journalism—and a little too fond of the art of the public rant
Israel’s ageing children
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Israel's most celebrated living writer has produced a wonderfully curious new book—a study of authorial isolation that cuts against everything he believes in
Cultural notebook
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
I'm a rational man. I don't blame God for the credit crisis. So why do I believe that someone called Sod controls books and buttered toast?
The death and life of Saddam’s soldier
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Wendell Steavenson's new book is remarkable for the way it grapples with the problem of evil: by letting its victims and perpetrators tell their own stories
Showing Hollywood how it's done
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
His new film is already making waves, his HBO mini-series is a critical and commercial hit. Hermione Eyre meets director Tom Hooper and asks: where did it all go right?
Private view
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
The Tate's Triennial show isn't nearly as original as its curator claims. But its dazzling revivalism is just what 21st-century art needs
Performance notes
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Chamber music is a vital and vigorous branch of the classical tradition. So why does it have such trouble winning audiences and reviews?
Where are all the cyborgs?
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
I've just written my first science fiction novel and have realised something I never suspected before. Sci-fi isn't a genre at all—it's at least a dozen of them
Widescreen
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Thanks to Danny Boyle, Indian cinema is being discussed globally. But the west is still largely ignorant of its canon and its subtleties
Political notes
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
In a crisis, power usually returns to the centre. But the leading figures of the coming post-Brown era are still talking about dispersing it
The life & opinions of…
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
My relative John Sadleir was the greatest bank fraudster of his day. But, in a way, he was merely a century or so ahead of his time
Washington watch
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Gaffe-prone Biden gets a beefed up role, while Clinton wonders if she has one. Plus, Obama learns lessons from socialism and ice cream
Brussels diary
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Now he's no longer EU president, it seems Nicolas Sarkozy can't do anything right. Plus, is the single market doomed in a recession?
Crisis watch
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
What's the difference between an Albanian and a "victim" of Bernie Madoff? Plus, how Britain's politicians are shafting virgins
China café
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
My note to myself read: dinner for ten Atomic Bombshells, 7pm. I'd been warned that the burlesque troupe like to let their hair down…
Sporting life
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Fog descends over Dubai—but Tiger Woods's luxury golf development sails on. Plus, why doesn't Fifa protect football's heritage?
Matters of taste
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Prices are tumbling in Michelin-starred restaurants. Now's the time to grab a bargain lunch—even if it's just a turnip cooked in cider
Lab report
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
How many bees do we actually need? Nobody seems to know. Plus, stem cell research is finally put to the test
The prisoner
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
My prison is full of unrepentant men who will never turn away from crime. Yet some are battling against their fears and weaknesses
Confessions
1st March 2009 — Issue 156
Flogging smelly, soiled, radioactive copies of other people's books on Amazon seemed like a great way to market my own one. But it wasn't