Inspired by the ongoing debate between my colleagues Adam Kern and Sarah Siskind concerning libertarianism and public goods, this is the introduction and the first installment of a multi-part series on various libertarian theories concerning government and the provision of public goods. Or, alternatively, the role of government in a free society. Debates can often … Read more
In a move that would further expand Australia’s progressive crackdown on tobacco marketing, the Australian legislature is looking to impose even harsher restrictions on the packaging of tobacco products sold in the land down under. Accompanying the recent $2 rise in cigarette costs, the new restrictions would alter the standardization of tobacco product packaging. In … Read more
Though largely underreported, significant policy changes have been effective at reducing violence in Brazil. Last month’s replacement of the head of the Civil Police in Rio de Janeiro by Martha Rocha, the first female chief in Rio, following corruption scandals implicating former chief José Mariano Beltrame, marks the most recent of five leadership turnovers in … Read more
Weeks into NATO’s air campaign in Libya, Obama, Cameron, and Sarkozy have reaffirmed the alliance’s commitment to ousting Qaddafi. They make no mention of introducing any ground operations, but in the grand scheme, that matters little. Indeed, air power is the essence of American power; Obama has thrown America’s symbolic weight behind the Libyan rebels. … Read more
This past Wednesday, Alderman Joe Moore from the 49th Ward of Chicago visited Harvard to speak of America’s very first experiment with a powerful practice in participatory democracy: Participatory Budgeting (PB). Alderman Moore, who had first heard of PB at the US Social Forum in Atlanta four years ago, oversaw its first session from November … Read more
This post is in response to a letter to the editor found in today’s Harvard Crimson. In response to our recent Crimson editorial, “Reclaiming Goldstone’s Missed Opportunity,” Abdelnasser Rashid writes today that “[i]n fact, Goldstone did not retract the most damning accusations of the more than 500-page report.” He dubs our characterization of Goldstone’s op-ed … Read more
Many critics, including some of my Harvard colleagues, have pointed out the hypocritical and McCarthy-ite nature of Rep. Peter King‘s recent hearings on radicalization within the American Islamic community. Mr. King has decided to jump on the bandwagon by joining in the increasingly common practice of alerting Americans to the newly-discovered threat of “homegrown terrorism.” … Read more
As part of the 2011 Science & Democracy Lecture Series, NY Times columnist David Brooks delivered a lecture titled “Politics, the Brain, and Human Nature” at the Graduate School of Design on April 12, 2011. Panelists included HBS Professor Max H. Bazerman, HLS Professor David Kennedy, and Psychology Professor Steven Pinker. Brooks argues, as in … Read more
In a letter to her husband on March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams urged John Adams to “remember the ladies” as he and his fellow founding brothers created a new nation. Unfortunately for Mrs. Adams, her pleas were dismissed by Mr. Adams who accused her of being “saucy.” It would take the new nation 144 years … Read more
Creating gender equality in American politics won’t prove easy Caroline Cox Although Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann shone bright in the political spotlight during the fall campaign, the American midterm elections proved a generally disappointing cycle for female candidates. Despite promises of a new “year of the woman,” many of the most prominent females running … Read more