[Stephen Mihm] How Titanic became a money-making scheme

The ill-fated passengers who died trying to visit the wreck of the Titanic paid an extraordinary price for the privilege: $250,000 each. This is hardly surprising, given how many people view the story of the doomed ship with intense, if morbid, fascination. While it’s tempting to blame James Cameron for this state of affairs, that’s not quite right. Our obsession with the Titanic tragedy, along with monetizing it, has far deeper roots. Even as the corpses of those who died in the tra

July 11, 2023

[Jean Pisani-Ferry] Can climate investment be financed by debt?

Climate ambitions are running into macroeconomic headwinds in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Speaking in late May, French Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire adamantly rejected the idea that France’s transition to a net-zero economy should be financed by issuing more debt. Then, just days later, Rachel Reeves, the UK’s shadow chancellor, backtracked from an earlier campaign pledge to borrow 28 billion euros ($35 billion) per year to finance climate investments. She now

July 10, 2023

[Elizabeth Shackelford] Ignoring migrants won‘t fix problems

For five days, “Breaking News” alerts hit my phone repeatedly with updates on the search for a missing submersible. The search for the five-passenger vessel began only days after an overloaded migrant vessel capsized carrying some 750 desperate people bound for Greece. The migrants aboard came from Pakistan, Egypt, Syria and Palestine, all funneled through Libya in a desperate attempt to reach Europe. Only 104 survivors have been found, making it one of the deadliest sinkings ever in

July 7, 2023

[Antara Haldar] Supreme Court kicks away ladder

Fifteen years ago, I watched in rapt attention as a resplendent, yet surreal, scene unfolded: the election of the first-ever African-American US president, Barack Obama. In the past week, the US Supreme Court, in a landmark 6-3 ruling, struck down what may have been one of the key factors in making that story possible: affirmative action in higher education. In an opinion drafted by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court rejected race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard (Obama’s law sc

July 6, 2023

[Lee Kyong-hee] From brittle armistice to permanent peace

Seven decades after an armistice halted massive death and destruction throughout the Korean Peninsula, the South and North remain technically at war. With leaders of both sides ramping up belligerent rhetoric, a formal peace agreement is as elusive as it was in 1953. Talking about peace right now seems naive, or for some even like leftist pro-North propaganda. Unification looks even farther off. The older generation still misses family members and friends who ended up on the opposite side in the

July 6, 2023

[Doyle McManus] Don’t count Putin out -- not yet

A little more than a week ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hold on power appeared to be disintegrating. Rebel mercenaries were advancing on Moscow against little or no resistance. Wealthy Muscovites scrambled for tickets out of the country. A coup d’etat attempt seemed imminent. And then, a perplexing reversal. After denouncing the mutiny as “treason,” Putin agreed to allow its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to take exile in neighboring Belarus. Prigozhin, presumably r

July 5, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] Moderation: The PC and 'woke' campaigns

Since the late 1980s, the term “political correctness,” abbreviated PC, has been widely used by American liberals and radicals. “PC” was a term that described language or behavior that was meant to avoid offense to the socially marginalized. In the 1990s, therefore, one would frequently hear, “Is it politically correct?” or “Is he politically correct?” At that time, you should be very careful not to say or do anything “politically incorrect.&

July 5, 2023

[Robin Abcarian] Supreme Court justices need high ethical standards

Why do some United States Supreme Court justices have such a hard time saying no? Believe me, I understand the temptation. Columnists may not be judges in the traditional sense, but we are judges in the court of public opinion. Occasionally, I've been offered gifts in exchange for a positive ruling (well, a positive column) on a controversial issue that may come before me. Attractive as these offers may be, they are just not that difficult to refuse. Especially when the institution's c

July 4, 2023

[Martin Schram] Enact re-affirmative action now

On Wednesday in the nation’s capital, officials at all levels were busily working on official papers that would have a lot to do with Jaylin Osborne’s hopes and dreams for a bright future in college and beyond. Jaylin, after all, was the sort of slim 15-year-old who was known not only for looking good in dreadlocks but also for helping his eighth-grade classmates. He had every reason to dream big. “Bright student … a hard-working, curious scholar … a leader among

July 4, 2023

[Takatoshi Ito] Japan’s will to up its defense budget

Following Japan’s defeat in World War II, the United States took pains to ensure that Japanese militarism could never again pose a threat to the Asia-Pacific or the world. As in Germany, these efforts were profoundly successful. For almost eight decades, Japan has eschewed foreign adventures and violent conflict. Pacifism was not only enshrined in its constitution; it also became deeply rooted in its political culture. By relying on America and its network of alliances and global partnersh

July 3, 2023

[Andrew Sheng] The future monetary system is already here

ChatGPT is touted as the tech breakthrough that may revolutionize daily operations, raising productivity and ushering the world into a new era. However, a series of technological innovations, beginning with FinTech or the digitization of financial services, including blockchain and the arrival of cyber-currencies, is gradually but surely transforming the financial landscape. As central bankers grapple with the complexity of digital money, they have come to realize that a new monetary system is a

July 3, 2023

[Robert J. Fouser] Shifting from university entrance to exit

A recent controversy over the difficulty of the Suneung, the nationwide college scholastic ability test, has raised concerns about the effects of the exam. Difficult “killer questions” that require skills and knowledge that go beyond the high school curriculum intimidate students and force them to turn to private cram schools for extra exam preparation. The burden on families for the cost of private education is a longstanding issue that previous presidential administrations have tri

June 30, 2023

[Wang Son-taek] US-China dialogue sheds light on a new global order

On June 18-19, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken visited Beijing, where he talked with China's top foreign policy decision makers one after another and achieved some consensus for improving bilateral relations. This is welcome news when 8 billion people worldwide, including myself, are troubled by anxiety over the US-China strategic competition. The two countries have not made splendid breakthroughs in managing the US-China strategic competition. However, considering the two sides' di

June 29, 2023

[Susan Stokes] Neutralizing Trump’s big lies

With the federal indictment of Donald Trump, the former US president is doubling down on divisive rhetoric. America is thus at the start of another depressing chapter of in a seemingly never-ending war of narratives. A June 7-10 CBS/YouGov poll found that only 38 percent of likely Republican voters view Trump’s mishandling of classified documents as a national-security risk, compared to 80 percent across other voter blocs. Trump’s falsehoods about the case threaten to undermine publi

June 29, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] “The Child is father of the Man”

In his celebrated 1802 poem, “My Heart Leaps Up,” poet William Wordsworth wrote the famous line: “The Child is father of the Man.” The poem, also known as “The Rainbow,” reads: “My heart leaps up when I behold/ A rainbow in the sky/ So was it when my life began/ So is it now I am a man/ So be it when I shall grow old/ Or let me die!/ The Child is father of the Man.” Then, he concludes, “And I wish my days to be/ Bound each to each by natural

June 28, 2023

[Kati Marton] Saving Poland’s democracy

Elections are always high-stakes affairs in countries experiencing democratic backsliding. This was true of Turkey’s recent presidential election -- described as “free but unfair.” Likewise, when Poles go to the polls this fall, democracy itself will be on the line. Since coming to power in 2015, Poland’s populist Law and Justice (PiS) party has politicized the judiciary, harassed civil society, and worked tirelessly to drive independent media out of business. It has capi

June 27, 2023

[Jan-Werner Mueller] Can local journalism be saved?

“All politics is local,” proclaims an old American saying. That might partly explain why democratic politics is going so badly -- especially, but not only, in the United States. For local government to work properly, there must be local journalism to hold politicians and policymakers to account. But local journalism has been collapsing in many parts of the world. This makes it more difficult for citizens to connect to civic life, both locally and, eventually, nationally. Local proble

June 27, 2023

[Thomas Spoehr] US military recruiting getting worse

At a recent House Armed Services Committee hearing, leaders from the US Army, Navy, and Air Force all dutifully reported that they expected to miss their annual recruiting goal this year by thousands. This is just the latest sign that the military recruiting crisis -- the worst since the institution of the all-volunteer force in 1973 -- is not abating. Despite significant efforts by the military services, such as offering hefty enlistment bonuses of up to $50,000 and the ability to choose your

June 26, 2023

[Ricken Patel] Why is Biden silent on Modi?

India’s democracy is in danger. There is no sound moral, political or economic case for President Joe Biden and other democratic leaders to pretend this isn’t happening. Yet the red carpets keep being rolled out. This week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be welcomed for a lavish state dinner at the White House on Thursday aimed at fostering a “free, open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific” region. On India’s current trajectory toward repression, this w

June 23, 2023

[Clifford A. Young, Justin Gest] Elections a salve to soothe populism

As Donald Trump’s star rises again even with multiple criminal indictments looming, many observers fear that anti-establishment populism in America is no longer just a flirtation, but a feature of our democratic system. More generally, it has become common to think that democracies anywhere -- with their open public spheres, majoritarian institutions and propensity for frustrating incrementalism -- have fueled the rise of populist leaders and demagogues. Examples of the success of “s

June 22, 2023