Features

There’s no longer any countervailing power in Washington. Business is incomplete control of the machinery of government. If corporate America understoodits long-term interest, it would use this unique moment to establish in thepublic’s mind the principle that business can be trusted. But it’s doing justthe opposite. Every industry and every major company is cashing in […]

I knew something was odd when Microsoft’s spelling checker corrected my typing of Bertelsmann, the German corporation that controls most of the world’s English-language trade publishing. It’s not your average English word. Neither are Westvaco, Enron, and Supervalu; nor Chevron, Costco, and Ameritech. But all of those semi-words are among the corporate monikers Microsoft has […]

Global oil production will probably reach a peak sometime during this decade. After the peak, the world’s production of crude oil will fall, never to rise again. The world will not run out of energy, but developing alternative energy sources on a large scale will take at least 10 years. In the meantime, there will […]

H ow is the new economy affecting our lives and what should be done about its excesses and injustices? This debate is emerging all over the world, but it surfaces only sporadically and partially, like the tip of a giant iceberg into which other things crash. French workers strike in pursuit of a 35-hour maximum […]

What are the powers of the national government? When is the nation allowed to act? When must the states act instead? These are not trivial issues. The answers will determine the ultimate fate of measures safeguarding the environment, protecting consumers, upholding civil rights, preventing violence against women, protecting endangered species, and defining criminal conduct in […]

I t is difficult for a liberal to raise concerns about irresponsible corporations without being accused of class warfare. The Wall Street Journal recently ridiculed Al Gore for “schlock populism” and cynical “business-bashing.” In truth Gore’s criticism is carefully calibrated and directed against assaults that affect the broad middle class. The vice president goes after […]

C ongress is supposed to represent the voters, and it sometimes does. Although much of the left opposed welfare reform, the final bill probably reflected what a majority of voters wanted Congress to do. Likewise budget balance. Yet when issues impinge on the power of business, Congress doesn’t always do what the public wants. Since […]

The exploding Firestone tires on Ford vehicles set off significant aftershocks in the media and government. While the car company and the tire manufacturer blamed each other, the Senate Commerce Committee took both companies to task at a high-profile September hearing. Even Republican senators called for increased regulatory power and funding. One could almost sense […]

After Sony Pictures admitted this June that its marketers had invented a film critic, other movie studios came clean with similar chicanery, such as placing paid workers in commercials and “suggesting” quotations to journalists. But in an age when the Internet has opened whole new worlds to marketing and public relations–realms yet unbound by clear […]