ፍትህ ለሁሉም / Justice for All
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that – very broadly – understands knowing the world as inseparable from agency within it. This general idea has attracted a remarkably rich and at times contrary range of interpretations, including: that all philosophical concepts should be tested via scientific experimentation, that a claim is true if and only if …
In times of uncertainty, people reach for historical analogies. After 9/11, George W. Bush administration officials invoked Pearl Harbor as a standard comparison in processing the intelligence failure that led to the attack. Secretary of State Colin Powell referred to Imperial Japan’s attack in making the case that Washington should deliver an ultimatum to the …
When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appeared imminent in early 2022, U.S. intelligence officials were so confident that Russian tanks would roll quickly to victory that staff evacuated the U.S. embassy in Kyiv. Based on traditional measures of power, the intelligence assessment made sense. In 2021, Russia ranked fifth in the world in defense spending, whereas …
Imagine it is 2028 and there is a coordinated parallel attack executed by Russia on one of the Baltic states and by China on Taiwan. Under such a scenario, Russia would attempt to seize NATO territory and China would blockade Taiwan as a fait accompli to undermine alliance cohesion. As things stand, NATO’s conventional forces would struggle to …
It’s not just inflation—the impact of taxes, regulations, and political mandates sharpens voters’ choices. Fast forward from London and Paris during the French Revolution to today, and nothing much has changed. A recent headline in the Wall Street Journal reads: “Mixed signals cloud economic forecast,” referring to whether we shall have the proverbial “soft landing” or the …
For weeks, the White House said the stars were aligned for a cease-fire agreement that would free the hostages held in Gaza. The framework of a deal first announced by President Biden has been in place since July. Since then, a phalanx of American officials has traveled frequently to the region, pushing Israel and Hamas to sign on. …
After more than a year of civil war, the toll in Sudan is heartbreaking: thousands killed, millions scattered and cities besieged or destroyed across a vast nation three times as large as France. Much of the capital lies in rubble. This month, international officials declared that part of Sudan was in a famine. At least …
Comment: Yuval is usually knowledgeable and a great writer. People, I believe, listen to him. But what he is saying in this video about communism reflects what the misinformed commoners say rather than the real meaning. It is the class, not the individual, that matters in communism says Yuval not knowing that communism is a …
THE ECONOMY 9 Good Job, FedWhen the Federal Reserve started paying interest on itsreserves, economists worried that the practice could lead toinstability and other problems. Instead, it proved a success—and may have staved off a recession. By John H. Cochrane ISRAEL AND THE MIDEAST 14 Requiem for a Grand StrategyMere months ago, American foreign policy …
Current debates about Israeli policy are rife with double standards, leading to absurd decisions like Germany’s recent cancellation of a pro-Palestinian gathering. By quashing legitimate speech and assembly, an Israel-aligned establishment risks inciting precisely the kind of anti-Semitism that it wants to prevent. LJUBLJANA – It is only April, but we already have a good …