The UN’s 169 priorities for sustainable development are too many and are like having none at all, argues Bjorn Lomborg. So he asked leading economists to evaluate which targets would do the most good for every dollar.
The Conversation
When Liberal Democracy Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be
The puzzle is not why democracy so often turns out to be illiberal. It is that liberal democracy can ever emerge.
Don’t Tell Rick Scott: Pope Francis Wants Action on Global Warming, Steaming Conservatives
Pope Francis’s call for action against global warming has many conservatives in the US up in arms, but his message is a matter of morality, argues Jeffrey Sachs.
It’s the Living Standards, Stupid: Britain’s Silent Election and Its Lesson For Democracies
As in the US, too many voters do not feel better off despite high growth and lower unemployment because average incomes have barely begun to rise, following seven painful years.
Effective Altruism: The Meaning of Giving to Combine Head and Heart
The Effective Altruism movement consists of people who give to feel good and to do good, combining the head and the heart. Their aim is to do the most good they can with the resources that they are willing to set aside for that purpose.
How George W. Bush and Benjamin Netanyahu Helped Iran Win the Middle East
Bush’s wars in the Middle East left Iran as the most influential actor in Iraq, while Netanyahu’s vulgarity and stupidity have fundamentally misunderstood the Iran challenge of regional mastery.
Three Encounters with Hillary
In three encounters with Hillary Clinton between 2004 and 2012, Bernard-Henri Lévy sees emotion and composure, the reflexes of an impeccable stateswoman and someone, he predicts, he will be addressing as Madam President next time they meet.
Obama Doctrines, Bland Rhetoric, and the Mealy-Mouthed West
From President Barack Obama’s oxymoronic first-term mantra “leading from behind” to the recent German variant “leading from the center,” empty phrases have become the currency of Western governments, writes Ana Palacio.
A Bigger Public-Health Problem Than Hunger: The Global Obesity Threat
The total economic impact of obesity is about $2 trillion a year, or 2.8% of world GDP – roughly equivalent to the economic damage caused by smoking or armed violence, war, and terrorism, according to new research by the McKinsey Global Institute.
Relearning to Love the Bomb
The shocking thing about nuclear weapons is that they seem to have lost their power to shock. While the nuclear deal just reached with Iran is very good news, that effort should not obscure the bad news elsewhere, writes Garth Evans.