Mark J. Farrales (UCSD): What is Corruption?: A History of Corruption Studies and the Great Definitions Debate. Ezra Klein on the Republican war on the CBO. Philosophy in Rags: Hugh Graham looks through the prism of Houellebecq's novels and finds a Gnostic theme for our times (and part 2 and part 3). From Slate, a special issue on fitness. From The Beast, a look at the 50 Most Loathsome Americans of 2010. From NYRB, William Pfaff on the trouble with dictators. Employees who have to maintain a neutral disposition while they are on the clock tend to spend more energy to meet that requirement; therefore, they have less energy to devote to work tasks. A review of The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do by Eduardo Porter. A class warfare fix for Social Security: Raising the retirement age discriminates against the poor — the rich aren't just richer, they live longer too. It turns out that sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll can all affect you in the same way: By flooding your brain with the pleasure chemical dopamine. Freemarket failures: Investors prefer doing business with Hugo Chavez over billionaire Koch brothers. A new biography of Claude Levi-Strauss chronicles the life a pioneering and controversial thinker (and more). Freud’s ideas have become part of the fabric of everyday life — yet his methods are going out of favour. Jesus of Wikipedia: Using Christ's page as a guide to the online encyclopedia's ten-year history.
