March 23, 2009 Issue

Cover art by: Cover design by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels

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Feature

Limits and Horizons

The best we can hope for is robust left Keynesianism–capitalism with a green and social democratic face.
Christian Parenti
Jamileh Ebrahimi, Educational Justice Organizer

Want to improve K-12 schools in your city? Get your friends involved, says Ebrahimi.
Jamilah King
Economy, Ecology, Empire

Today’s threefold crisis of capitalism may yet spark a great revolt from below.
John Bellamy Foster
Lakhdar Brahimi: Afghanistan’s Future

In an interview with The Nation, a veteran UN envoy assesses the Obama administration’s evolving policies on Afghanistan and the role President Hamid Karzai might play.
Barbara Crossette
Be Utopian: Demand the Realistic

Neoliberal capitalism is dead. But socialism isn’t ready to take its place.
Robert Pollin
Letter From Qatar

Qataris meet with a visitor to ponder the world economy, the plight of the Palestinians and a new American president.
Clayton Swisher
America Is #… 15?

Because of income inequality, the United States scores poorly on a new index of general well-being.
Dalton Conley
Lessons From Latin America

The region’s social movements are a useful model for US leftists wanting to influence Obama.
Benjamin Dangl
A Bank Bailout That Works

Banks have polluted the economy; it’s a matter of equity and efficiency that they clean it up.
Joseph E. Stiglitz
Capitalism’s Deadly Logic

Do not underestimate capitalism’s ability to adapt and survive—at the expense of the majority it exploits.
Tariq Ali
The Revolution Has Already Occurred

The underlying vision isn’t capitalist or socialist but something humane, local and accountable.
Rebecca Solnit
Together, We Save the Planet

Hyper-individualism has damaged society, the planet and our private lives. We need a politics that calls us to work together.
Bill McKibben
Follow Brazil’s Example

What we want from Obama is not social transformation. We want measures to minimize the suffering of people right now.
Immanuel Wallerstein
Rising to the Occasion

The capitalists who have run things so far have forfeited all trust and respect. So what will we do now? A Nation Forum.
Barbara Ehrenreich and Bill Fletcher Jr.

Editorial

DC Voting Rights Debacle

The Democrats fail to stop a draconian gun amendment from being attached to an otherwise worthwhile bill backing representation for DC citizens.
Greg Kaufmann
Dr. Gupta, Give Me the News

Withdrawing his bid for Surgeon General, CNN’s Sanjay Gupta is headed back to TV. But his medical reporting, like his nomination, is worrisome.
Chris Mooney
Rage Is Good

Demonstrations April 4 calling Wall Street to account could help progressive populism come alive in America. Obama and Congress need the pressure.
Tom Hayden
Ten Things You Can Do to Stay in Your Home

Advice and resources for preventing or fighting foreclosure.
The Nation
Tom Geoghegan’s Run

Tom Geoghegan may not have prevailed at the polls, but he won the ideas primary.
John Nichols
Green Power Struggle

An act of civil disobedience at a coal-fired generator in DC shows the movement to halt global warming is now in its second act.
Chris Hayes
Noted.

Max Fraser on Republic Windows & Doors, John Nichols on the FCC and on Obama’s pick for commerce secretary, Loren Lynch on carbon caps
The Editors
Obama’s Iraq Exit

Obama’s exit plan leaves unresolved the role of private security contractors and the residual force of as many as 50,000 troops that will remain in place.
The Editors
Comes the Change

Obama’s first budget is an audacious plan to transform America. But in sad testament to how deeply we’ve fallen, it is not bold enough.
Robert L. Borosage
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Column

Reagan’s Socialist Legacy

The consequences of the deregulatory frenzies that allowed Wall Street to run wild have now come home to roost. So why is the GOP blaming Obama?
Robert Scheer
The Coming Economic Storm

If unemployment keeps rising and people with jobs stop spending, the atmospherics are right for a typhoon of misery on a scale of what Americans suffered in the early 1930s.
Nicholas von Hoffman
Lifestyles of the Rich and Generous?

Will the skewed values of the boom years give way to a spirit of generosity toward the poor?
Katha Pollitt
The Third Obama

Dope smokers take heart at Obama’s stance on medical marijuana.
Alexander Cockburn
Bobby Jindal Bombs

Everything the GOP does these days turns to comedy.
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

The Mutual Human Concern

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, Steve McQueen’s Hunger, Andrzej Wajda’s Katyn.
Stuart Klawans
The Eye That Collects: On Walker Evans

Walker Evans’s collection of picture postcards, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is an artistic project in its own right.
J. Gabriel Boylan
Ceaselessly Opportuning: On Barbara Guest

Barbara Guest’s Collected Poems showcase her knack for catching sight of time in its act of escaping one’s grasp.
Barry Schwabsky
A Nazi Zelig: Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones

The Kindly Ones, Jonathan Littell’s fictive memoir of a Nazi SS officer, is intentionally sickening and an unquestionably brilliant success.
Samuel Moyn
The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

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Letters

Letters

Give That Lady a Cigar!
Canton, Mich.
Our Readers

Crossword

Puzzle No. 3161

ACROSS

1 An official has to stand behind it! Run across it and it goes up on the board. (4,5)
Frank W. Lewis

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March 23, 2009 Issue

Feature

The best we can hope for is robust left Keynesianism–capitalism with a green and social democratic face.

Want to improve K-12 schools in your city? Get your friends involved, says Ebrahimi.

Today’s threefold crisis of capitalism may yet spark a great revolt from below.

In an interview with The Nation, a veteran UN envoy assesses the Obama administration’s evolving policies on Afghanistan and the role President Hamid Karzai might play.

Neoliberal capitalism is dead. But socialism isn’t ready to take its place.

Qataris meet with a visitor to ponder the world economy, the plight of the Palestinians and a new American president.

Because of income inequality, the United States scores poorly on a new index of general well-being.

The region’s social movements are a useful model for US leftists wanting to influence Obama.

Banks have polluted the economy; it’s a matter of equity and efficiency that they clean it up.

Do not underestimate capitalism’s ability to adapt and survive—at the expense of the majority it exploits.

The underlying vision isn’t capitalist or socialist but something humane, local and accountable.

Hyper-individualism has damaged society, the planet and our private lives. We need a politics that calls us to work together.

What we want from Obama is not social transformation. We want measures to minimize the suffering of people right now.

The capitalists who have run things so far have forfeited all trust and respect. So what will we do now? A Nation Forum.

Editorial

The Democrats fail to stop a draconian gun amendment from being attached to an otherwise worthwhile bill backing representation for DC citizens.

Withdrawing his bid for Surgeon General, CNN’s Sanjay Gupta is headed back to TV. But his medical reporting, like his nomination, is worrisome.

Demonstrations April 4 calling Wall Street to account could help progressive populism come alive in America. Obama and Congress need the pressure.

Advice and resources for preventing or fighting foreclosure.

Tom Geoghegan may not have prevailed at the polls, but he won the ideas primary.

An act of civil disobedience at a coal-fired generator in DC shows the movement to halt global warming is now in its second act.

Max Fraser on Republic Windows & Doors, John Nichols on the FCC and on Obama’s pick for commerce secretary, Loren Lynch on carbon caps

Obama’s exit plan leaves unresolved the role of private security contractors and the residual force of as many as 50,000 troops that will remain in place.

Obama’s first budget is an audacious plan to transform America. But in sad testament to how deeply we’ve fallen, it is not bold enough.

GET UNLIMITED DIGITAL ACCESS FOR LESS THAN $3 A MONTH!

Column

The consequences of the deregulatory frenzies that allowed Wall Street to run wild have now come home to roost. So why is the GOP blaming Obama?

If unemployment keeps rising and people with jobs stop spending, the atmospherics are right for a typhoon of misery on a scale of what Americans suffered in the early 1930s.

Will the skewed values of the boom years give way to a spirit of generosity toward the poor?

Dope smokers take heart at Obama’s stance on medical marijuana.

Everything the GOP does these days turns to comedy.

Books & the Arts

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, Steve McQueen’s Hunger, Andrzej Wajda’s Katyn.

Walker Evans’s collection of picture postcards, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is an artistic project in its own right.

Barbara Guest’s Collected Poems showcase her knack for catching sight of time in its act of escaping one’s grasp.

The Kindly Ones, Jonathan Littell’s fictive memoir of a Nazi SS officer, is intentionally sickening and an unquestionably brilliant success.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

Letters

Give That Lady a Cigar! Canton, Mich.

Crossword

ACROSS 1 An official has to stand behind it! Run across it and it goes up on the board. (4,5)

Give That Lady a Cigar!
Canton, Mich.

ACROSS

1 An official has to stand behind it! Run across it and it goes up on the board. (4,5)