The Wilson Quarterly

Will Globalization Make Hatred More Lethal?

Articles — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0500

"Link found between hatred and killing" is not a headline that would sell many newspapers. But you might turn a few heads with "Link between hatred and killing changes in ominous way." Or--to put a finer point on it--"Ratio of killing to hatred slated to rise." This is one of the biggest stories of the last 30 years and, probably, the next 30 years: the growing lethality of hatred.

Why has terrorism become public enemy number one? The most common answer--the rise of a brand of radical Islam that uses terror as its weapon -- -is true insofar… more

Will Great Cities Survive?

Articles — Wed, 13 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0400

For the first time in human history, a majority of the earth's population lives in cities. But though great cities have been among humanity's supreme achievements down through the ages, they now face an uncertain future, threatened by forces that could undermine the very things that have made them great.

On November 8, 1519, Bernal Dfaz del Castillo saw a sight that would stay with him forever. Serving under Hernando Cortes, the 27-year-old Spanish soldier had already encountered signs of urban civilization that multiplied as he and his comrades marched from the humid lowlands of Mexico up into… more

Toward a Global Society of States

Articles — Thu, 01 Aug 2002 03:00:00 -0400

Here is an instructive and entertaining exercise for students of American foreign policy. Match the quotation to the appropriate American statesman: Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, or Woodrow Wilson.

The first quotation is this: "Our aim should be from time to time to take such steps as may be possible toward creating something like an organization of the civilized nations, because as the world becomes more highly organized the need for navies and armies will diminish." Woodrow Wilson, you might think, the naïve idealist who dreamed that the League of Nations would put an end to war. But no.… more

Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon

Articles — Thu, 01 Aug 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Late this year, a sad little anniversary will likely pass without much notice. On December 14, 1972, Eugene Cernan took one last look around the dark lava plains of the Taurus Mountains, near the Littrow Crater. The golf-cart-like lunar rover stood 500 feet away, ready to send Earth live television images of his departure. He gazed down at the plaque on the spider-legged lunar excursion module, which, like the rover, would be left behind: "Here Man completed his first exploration of the Moon/December 1972 A.D./May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all… more

Do the People Rule?

Articles — Fri, 01 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Presidents as diverse as William McKinley, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter have spoken the simple words: "Here the people rule." But the meaning of the words is by no means as straightforward as it may seem. Who exactly are the people? The inhabitants of 50 different states, or the inhabitants of a single nation? One people, or 50 peoples joined by compact? The questions are as old as the nation, and perhaps best answered today by recognizing validity in each position.

If American government were a cake, what kind of cake would it be? Political science and law examinations at American… more

Contemporary Affairs

Articles — Wed, 01 Aug 2001 00:00:00 -0400

In the 1990s, the Washington consensus held that free trade and deregulated markets would best promote prosperity in countries at all stages of development. This "neoliberal" consensus was shared not only by conservatives and libertarians but by center-left advocates of the Third Way, such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, who sought to reconcile progressive redistribution programs with free-market economics. Tonelson, a research fellow at the U.S. Business and Industry Council, provides a well-informed and often witty assault on the conventional wisdom.

He argues that economic globalization, by enlarging the pool of low-wage labor, tends to reduce wages in… more

The Genetic Surprise

Articles — Sun, 01 Oct 2000 00:00:00 -0400

So strong is the American aversion to "socialized medicine" that neither major candidate in this year's presidential election has dared question the fundamental role of the private sector in underwriting the U.S. health care system. Indeed, most … more

The Second Fall of Rome

Articles — Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 -0500

The reputation of Roman civilization in the Western world has never been lower than it is today. To a remarkable degree, the cultural and political legacies of both the Roman republic and the Roman Empire have been edited out of … more

The New American Frontier

Articles — Tue, 01 Jun 1999 00:00:00 -0400

What if a distinguished American foreign correspondent resumed home to explore and explain the United States, using interpretive skills developed by studying other societies? That is the premise of Robert Kaplan's study of the United States at the turn of the millennium, An Empire Wilderness: Travels into America's Future. A contributing editor of the Atlantic Monthly, Kaplan has written influential and widely admired books about countries torn … more