Richard Rorty’s provocative pragmatism reached an audience far beyond academic philosophers. A new biography unfortunately ends before he ascends to that larger stage.
Books
Read reviews of nonfiction books on policy, politics and power
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The Right in the Rearview Mirror
It took liberals 30 years to take conservatism seriously. Now we’re obsessed with it. E.J. Dionne considers four new books about the end of the conservative era.
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TAP Talks to Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman’s latest book is The Conscience of a Liberal, echoing Paul Wellstone’s book of the same title. TAP sat down with Krugman earlier this week to talk about Wellstone, inequality, and the rise of progressive politics.
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State of the Debate: The Color of the Law
Race and crime commingle dangerously in the American psyche. Now that crime rates are declining, might color-blind justice finally be achievable?
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Controversy: The Virtues of Humiliation
Continuing the debate from “The Shaming Sham,” by Carl F. Horowitz (March-April 1997).
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State of the Debate: The White Rage
Why has extremist violence exploded on the right? A historical look at the evolution of populist rage.
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The Sexual Counterrevolution
The sexual revolution brought excess as well as progress. In the aftermath of AIDS, a new puritanism threatens to repeal both.
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State of the Debate: Back to Boys’ School
Tender anecdotes about elite all-boys’ schools have ignited efforts to expand single-sex education to Americans from all backgrounds. But there’s another side of the story.
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The Porter Prescription
Michael Porter, management consultant extraordinaire, has now brought his theory of competitive advantage to the inner city. Bold new ideas — or an old elixir in a new bottle?
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On the Politics of Virtue
THE LIBERAL VIRTUES Stephen Teles T he welfare state and the advocates of “virtue” have few friends in common. Those on the right want to save virtue from the welfare state, while those on the left want to protect the welfare state from the rhetoric of virtue. An exemplar of the latter tendency is James […]
