Big problems don’t always polarize societies. Indeed, having an external enemy can cause a society to increase its internal levels of trust and coherence. Moreover, societies can be destabilized without becoming polarized: a pandemic or natural disaster can incapacitate people and their institutions without causing them to choose sides and fight.
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Aug
12
2024
Chartbook 307 To live or not to live with polycrisis: The USA, Mexico and the need for a regional policy in Central America and the Caribbean.
by Adam Tooze in Chartbook…What is needed is not more border controls and militarized policing, but a pooling of governmental resources amongst the stronger...
Jan
29
2024
Disinformation poses an unprecedented threat in 2024 — and the U.S. is less ready than ever
by Brandy Zadrozny in NBC News…The U.S. presidential election comes at a time of ideal circumstances for disinformation and the people who spread it.
Oct
10
2023
Arundhati Roy: The dismantling of democracy in India will affect the whole world
Millions live on subsistence rations delivered in packets with Modi’s face printed on them. India is a very rich country with very poor people. One of the most unequal...
Jun
09
2023
Chartbook 218: “So far from god” … friend-shoring and the debate in Washington over whether to bomb Mexico.
by Adam Tooze in Chartbook….Proximity brings safety and harmony only if you have sorted out your neighborly relations. That is far from being the case between...
May
26
2023
Beyond growth: speech by President Ursula von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered this speech during the opening plenary of the Beyond Growth conference
May
22
2023
The second phase of the Biden presidency
By David Brooks, The New York Times…f you ask me now what the Biden administration is for, my answer would be different. Today, its main purpose is to prepare the...
Apr
12
2023
The man who leaked the pentagon papers is scared
Daniel Ellsberg, now 91, says “I’m leaving a world in terrible shape and terrible in all ways that I’ve tried to help make better during my...
Feb
08
2023
Davos man must pay
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, has always been more than a little problematic. But in recent years, the annual gathering of the rich...
Jan
16
2023
Attacks on Pacific north-west power stations raise fears for US electric grid
A string of attacks on power facilities in Oregon and Washington has caused alarm and highlighted the vulnerabilities of the US electric grid.
Jan
05
2023
Physical attacks on power grid surge to new peak
People are shooting, sabotaging and vandalizing electrical equipment in the U.S. at a pace unseen in at least a decade, amid signs that domestic extremists hope to use...