What have all the African Revolutionaries Gone?’ muses Chris Blattman (I think he means ‘where’) Food corner: It’s time to regulate food markets, reckons former IFPRI director-general Joachim von Braun, reacting to the wheat price spike caused by the Russian export ban. Is eating local food environmentally virtuous? Nope, says James Choi in the New York Times, taking aim at the ‘locavores’ [h/t Chris Blattman] Last week China overtook Japan to become the world’s second largest economy. How do we know? Paul Krugman inveighs against the Austerians, a religious cult that has taken over the minds of the world’s policy makers this year, demanding terrible human sacrifices to appease invisible (and largely imaginary) gods Two for the intellectuals. On Global Dashboard, Jules Evans has been writing some long, intelligent essays on some Big Questions in political philosophy. First he ponders the limits of liberalism and explores the politics of pursuing ‘the good life’. Conclusion? Enough John Stuart Mill, what we need is a bit more Aristotle. Next up he riffs off the back of a new RSAnimate youtube video of its boss Matthew Taylor on his new big idea – 21st Century enlightenment. If ‘we are mainly automatic, irrational creatures’, asks Jules, what does that mean for progressive thinkers? (But guys, sharpen up your titles – why would anyone click on a post called ‘Drawing over-hasty Conclusions’?) And finally, it was World Humanitarian Day last week, and here’s a moving (and thought-provoking) 4 minute video on the lives of humanitarian workers. Respect to the lot of them. ]]>
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