The latest issue of Sapiens is out. Stas Getmanenko (SMU): Utopian Thought and the Law of Nations. Brad deLong on the retreat of macroeconomic policy, and a response by Paul Krugman on the instability of moderation: Financial, intellectual and political. Why are the world's governments bothering to meet in Cancun? The next great crash will be ecological, and nature doesn't do bailouts; in fact, nature isn't a nurturing mother like Gaia — it is Medea, the figure from Greek mythology who murdered her own children. A review of The New Machiavelli: How to Wield Power in the Modern World by Jonathan Powell. The Pirate Bay: Leon Tan on countervailing power and the problem of state organized crime. Ideas are free: Stephan Kinsella on the case against intellectual property. Was the Big Bang preceded by another universe (which was preceded by another universe)? How everything you learned in kindergarten affects your salary, your chances of going to college and owning a home, and even your retirement savings. A review of Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon Winchester. From Vice, weed dealings: Here is a brief history of the California pot trade. A look at how photos implant "memories" of fictional news events. There isn’t much overtly right-wing music; Conservapedia is trying to remedy that. A review of Lethal Warriors: When the New Band of Brothers Came Home — Uncovering the Tragic Reality of PTSD by David Philipps (and more). On the history of anthropology: A review of Glimpses into My Own Black Box: An Exercise in Self-Deconstruction by George W. Stocking Jr. Who cares if it’s all meaningless anyway? A startling proportion of the population, the existentially indifferent, demonstrates little concern for meaning in their lives.
