Geopolitical Consequences of the Credit Crunch
Does Wall Street's meltdown presage the end of the American century? Many commentators have warned that the past week's financial mayhem signaled a major political setback for the United States as well as an economic one. "Why should the rest of the world ever again take seriously the American free-market model after this debacle?" a leading British journalist asked me last Thursday. This crisis, he argued, was to economics what the Iraq war was to U.S. foreign policy: a fatal blow to the credibility of American claims to global primacy.... Read more

Great Repression
Alan Greenspan, that grandmaster of good timing, last week described the current financial crisis as “probably a once-in-a-century event”. The Great Depression began less than 80 years ago but, then again, we are in a different century. Whether or not this will be the worst such upheaval the world has to face between now and 2099, the fact that nothing as bad as the Depression occurred between the 1930s and now is in itself remarkable.... Read more

How a local squall might become a global tempest
The phrase “perfect storm” has been trotted out once too often to characterise the past year’s financial crisis. Yet the real perfect storm may still lie ahead. (Finance & Economics) Financial Times.... Read more

China's war on nature
China on the eve of next month's Olympic Games is like a “hot wok” of aiguozhuyi – national pride – according to Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese writer. The question is how far the Chinese government risks overcooking the popular mood. (Finance & Economics) Financial Times.... Read more

Rebellion without a cause
Forty years on, what was 1968 all about? In the US, Vietnam was high on the agenda – but so was sex without strings. Demographics did more to liberate women and black people than demonstrations. And the proletarian police were more than happy to beat up the protesting hippie heroes. (History) Financial Times.... Read more

Stalin's Intelligence
In the past four years the United States has paid heavily for two major intelligence failures. Before the 9/11 attacks, accurate warnings of the threat posed by Al Qaeda were not acted upon. Conversely, before the invasion of Iraq, inaccurate assessments about Saddam Hussein's military capabilities were acted upon. (Politics) The New York Times.... Read more