Decline or Renewal?

Last Man Standing

– Tyler Cowen

It’s no cause for celebration, but the global financial crisis shows why the United States remains the indispensable nation.

The Pessimist Persuasion

– Arthur Herman

Throughout history, many intellectuals have been willing to write their society's obituary long before the game was up.

A Fighting Chance

– Alfredo Corchado

As Mexico steps up its war against the brutal cartels that supply the United States’ drug habit, leaders on both sides of the border face tough questions about how to combat a problem that threatens the very fabric of Mexico’s democracy.

The World's New Numbers

– Martin Walker

Neither the immigrants nor the Europeans are playing their assigned roles.

They Call It Home

– Margaret Paxson

Ethnic and religious violence keep Russia's North Caucasus region in the news. A portrait of daily life in one small village reveals a richer, more hopeful reality.

John Stuart Mill's “Very Simple Principle”

– Christopher Clausen

Wherever there's a debate over gay marriage, free speech, or even smoking in public places, the arguments John Stuart Mill made in “On Liberty” are still in the thick of the action.

He Told Us So

– The Wilson Quarterly

A look back at Daniel Patrick Moynihan's 1965 report.

Bye-Bye Books?

– The Wilson Quarterly

The 500-year-old technology of the book may be poised for assisted living, or maybe even perpetual care.

The Establishment Restored

– The Wilson Quarterly

Not since the election of JFK has America chosen a president so closely associated with the Ivy League.

In Praise of Trimming

– The Wilson Quarterly

Not only is trimming pervasive, says the government's new regulatory czar, it is also honorable.

First Steps with Iran

– The Wilson Quarterly

There are signs of change in what one scholar calls “the poisonous domestic political climates in both Tehran and Washington.”

Magnifying American Power

– The Wilson Quarterly

"International institutions channel the United States’ power and enhance its security," say two Dartmouth political scientists.

A Leg Up From the Job Corps

– The Wilson Quarterly

Assessing the Job Corps, a Great Society program that works.

The Zen of Spell-Checking

– The Wilson Quarterly

To a spell-checking program, "boatman" is as good as "Obama."

City of Niche News

– The Wilson Quarterly

Niche reporters and correspondents from overseas now dominate the Washington press corps.

The First Civil War

– The Wilson Quarterly

The American Revolution may be more accurately viewed as a series of local civil wars.

History by Name

– The Wilson Quarterly

Baby names paint a remarkably revealing picture of village life in western Uganda from 1900 to 2005.

God's Speed Dial

– The Wilson Quarterly

What do you give a celebrity who has everything? A god.

The Lullaby of Taxis

– The Wilson Quarterly

European blackbirds can give pitch-perfect renditions of urban noises, even copying the annoying sound of a golf cart backing up at a golf course.

Survival Art

– The Wilson Quarterly

A stream of archaeological discoveries is dramatically pushing back the dates of objects that were surely shaped by the hand of early man.

The Bulging Brain

– The Wilson Quarterly

The shape of the brain may be critical to the causes of such mental disorders as schizophrenia and autism.

Postmodern Pews

– The Wilson Quarterly

There's the devil to pay when a church gets stuck with a Modernist masterpiece.

The Barbarous Black Skeleton

– The Wilson Quarterly

The Eiffel Tower, now the iconic symbol of Paris, was despised at first for being too American.

Brazil's Bold Experiment

– The Wilson Quarterly

The Bolsa Família program is helping impoverished Brazilians improve their lives.

Catch and Release

– The Wilson Quarterly

Stamping out piracy in the Gulf of Aden is not as simple as sending in more warships.

Breaking the Chinese Mold

– The Wilson Quarterly

Americans think the Chinese are nationalistic, authoritarian, conformist, and deferential. All of those presumptions are wrong.

Oiling Our Progress

– Tom Vanderbilt

Tom Vanderbilt on the future of the auto industry.

Made in America

– Sarah L. Courteau

Sarah L. Courteau on great Americans.

Educating Urban America

– Thomas Toch

Thomas Toch on the new urban schools.

Mr. Wilson, It's Only Business

– Robert Litwak

Robert Litwak on the Godfather Doctrine.

Flibbertigibbets

– Michael C. Moynihan

Michael Moynihan on Bright Young People.

Whose Is Whose

– Kembrew McLeod

Kembrew McLeod on the commons of the mind.

India's Pilgrims

– Vikram Johri

Vikram Johri on the Indian diaspora.

National Subject

– Matthew Battles

Matthew Battles on early American art.

Preserved in Time

– Andrew Curry

Andrew Curry on Pompeii.

Personal History

– Gerald J. Russello

Gerald J. Russello on historian John Lukacs.

Legal Limits

– Alexandra Vacroux

Alexandra Vacroux on women's legal rights.

Evolved Tastes

– John Onians

John Onians on aesthetics and evolution.

Down With Dogma

– Theo Anderson

Theo Anderson on the future of liberalism.