Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
"Bahrain has become a symbol of the failure of the Arab Spring to deliver real democracy and freedom. What is hardly ever mentioned is that this very system of oppression in Bahrain was largely created by the British"
"For the rich the spirit of cooperation on which democracy depends is only an option, not a necessity. When the rich engage in politics they are not under the same constraints as the rest of us to find a mutually agreeable solution"
Profile of Srdja Popovic, Serbian peaceful revolutionary. Helped to overthrow Milosevic in 2000. Started NGO that has trained pro-democracy activists in 40 countries. Source of instruction and inspiration for Arab Spring
In 1791, a mass insurrection broke out among Haiti's slaves. Today it is almost forgotten, and yet it shaped history almost as deeply as the two 18th century revolutions with which we are far more familiar – those of 1776 and 1789
Essay. Ten trends have defined our economic, social, and political lives for the past 100 years. The dominant one has been rising demand for individual rights. Will those trends, or different ones, shape the coming century? (PDF)
That was Putin's score, Ahmadinejad's too. "Cleverly spun, this 35 per cent simply exists to reinforce and legitimise the 65 per cent that turned out and/or voted for a particular candidate. It creates the fiction of plurality"
Some people (usually of high educational attainment and income) argue that political decisions are too important to be left to the uneducated, manipulable masses. Yet evidence does not suggest the masses are irrational
Privacy, piracy, security, sovereignty. Just some of the battle lines drawn in the war over the Internet. And part of wider questions of freedom and control. Later this year, the key UN treaty will be revised. Here's what's at stake
US policy towards Middle East used to rely on "authoritarian stability". It wasn't good for Arab people but, for 30 years, it met Washington's goals. No more. US viewed so negatively in Egypt that hands-off approach best plan now
America. "From Nuremberg on, no country has invested more in the development of international jurisdiction for atrocity crimes. And no country has worked harder to make sure that the law it seeks for others does not apply to itself"
Review of "Why Nations Fail" by Acemoglu and Robinson. Successful nations are ones in which everyone has a chance to share in prosperity and power. Failed nation are ones in which rulers grab power and wealth for themselves
Long interview with essayist and critic on culture, politics, values, freedoms. Interesting throughout. "The more powerful a person or institution, the more his or its freedom should be circumscribed by laws and regulations"
Image from Wikimedia Commons
"Democracy does not require perfect equality, but it does require that citizens share a common life"
