Janice Gross Stein

In the wake of last year’s financial crisis, Alan Greenspan, former chair of the United States Federal Reserve, expressed astonishment at the irrational behaviour of institutional leaders. “Those of us who looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity—myself especially—are in a state of shocked disbelief.” A strong believer in the rationality of decision…

Gore Vidal once described Moby Dick as “a very bad masterpiece,” and most readers will understand exactly what he meant. Notwithstanding the book’s mythic grandeur, that huge chapter on “the whiteness of the whale,” for instance, has to be one of the most indigestible bits of fiction ever written. It was in the same spirit as Vidal’s observation that the LRC editorial staff planned this December’s holiday…

More than a year after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by U.S. forces, the war remains the subject of fierce controversy. Leaders who supported it most strongly and those who opposed it most vehemently find themselves embattled at home and baffled abroad. The presidential campaign in the United States coincides with a growing domestic debate about the motives for…