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Great Debates

Page history last edited by Brian D Butler 1 year, 5 months ago

See also:

 

 

 

Some important Debates:

 

1.  Climate Change:

 

TRANSNATIONAL: Cap-and-Trade Costs

A new paper by the Brookings Institution finds that consumers, rather than corporations, are likely to bear most of the costs associated with a cap-and-trade system to control greenhouse gas emissions. The paper argues that governments should compensate consumers for these costs.

This CFR Backgrounder looks at the debate over the cap-and-trade program.

 

2. Democracy, Capitalism

 

Current Trend - ongoing debate about the role of the state 

 

For recent blog posts from globotrends, see also: 

 

 

In defense of Democracy:

Winston Churchill said that, "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried from time to time."

 

One opinion: "As I see it, there are two basic problems in how we have designed our government. The first is that officials favor policies with short-term impact over those in our long-term interest because they need to be popular while they are in office and they want to be re-elected. In recent times, opinion tracking polls, the immediate reactions of focus groups, the 24/7 news cycle, the constant campaign, and the moment-to-moment obsession with the Dow Jones Industrial Average have magnified the political pressures to favor short-term solutions. Earlier this year, the political topic du jour was to debate whether the stimulus was working, before it had even been spent.

 

"Paul Volcker was an unusual public official because he was willing to make unpopular decisions in the early '80s and was disliked at the time. History, though, judges him kindly for the era of prosperity that followed.

 

Presently, Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner have become the quintessential short-term decision makers. They explicitly "do whatever it takes" to "solve one problem at a time" and deal with the unintended consequences later. It is too soon for history to evaluate their work, because there hasn't been time for the unintended consequences of the "do whatever it takes" decision-making to materialize.

 

The second weakness in our government is "concentrated benefit versus diffuse harm" also known as the problem of special interests. Decision makers help small groups who care about narrow issues and whose "special interests" invest substantial resources to be better heard through lobbying, public relations and campaign support. The special interests benefit while the associated costs and consequences are spread broadly through the rest of the population. With individuals bearing a comparatively small extra burden, they are less motivated or able to fight in Washington.

 

related issue: "Special Interests" 

 

 

From CFR:

 

 

The Clash of Ideas: The Ideological Battles that Made the Modern World—And Will Shape the Future

The Clash of Ideas: The Ideological Battles that Made the Modern World—And Will Shape the Future (January 2012) traces, in real time, the great intellectual debates that defined the twentieth century and are molding the twenty-first. Commemorating Foreign Affairs' 90th anniversary, this new collection is indispensable reading for understanding the emergence of political liberalism and the making of the modern world order. Request Exam Copy »

 

 

 

 

 

The New Arab Revolt: What Happened, What It Means, and What Comes Next

The New Arab Revolt: What Happened, What It Means, and What Comes Next (May 2011) sets the intellectual stage for interpreting the recent revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. This collection brings together more than sixty articles, interviews, congressional testimonies, and op-eds from experts including Fouad Ajami, Lisa Anderson, Aluf Benn, Isobel Coleman, Richard Haass, Martin Indyk, Bernard Lewis, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, and Dirk Vandewalle. Request Exam Copy »

 

 

 

 

 

China on The World Stage

China on the World Stage (August 2010) contains essays that assess the geopolitical ramifications of China's rise to power, the development and environmental challenges China faces at home, and its relations with major players such as the United States, Russia, and Taiwan. Request Exam Copy »

 

 

see globotrends page: Rising importance of China

 

 

 

More Links from GloboTrends:

 

 

 

 

 

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