Lunes, 30 de julio de 2007

No conozco a ningún político de primer orden francés que, en un momento u otro de su existencia, no haya considerado que escribir y publicar un libro era un peaje obligado en su carrera. ¿Es por el prestigio, más vivo en Francia que en otras partes, del libro y de la cosa literaria? ¿Es el vínculo, especialmente estrecho desde los enciclopedistas y la Revolución francesa, entre la pluma y la espada, la política y la literatura? ¿Habrán seguido el ejemplo de escritores como Chateaubriand, que soñaron con ser ministros, o como Malraux, que pensaba en destacar con las armas tanto como con la literatura?…  Seguir leyendo »

Con la significativa excepción de George W. Bush, pocos se atreven a negar que la situación en Irak es hoy caótica. Sin embargo, W. -como le denominan algunos comentaristas norteamericanos- sorprende casi cotidianamente a la opinión pública con originales iniciativas. En un discurso a principios de julio informó a sus compatriotas que estaba estudiando historia y que había invitado a la Casa Blanca a un grupo de historiadores y teólogos para cambiar impresiones sobre la suerte de Irak y la naturaleza del bien y del mal.

Bush progresa. Ha pasado de la mera proclama inicial sobre el maligno a querer redactar una tesis sobre el eje del mal.…  Seguir leyendo »

The morass in Iraq and deepening difficulties in Afghanistan have not deterred the Bush administration from taking on a dangerous and questionable new secret operation. High-level U.S. officials are working with their Turkish counterparts on a joint military operation to suppress Kurdish guerrillas and capture their leaders. Through covert activity, their goal is to forestall Turkey from invading Iraq.

While detailed operational plans are necessarily concealed, the broad outlines have been presented to select members of Congress as required by law. U.S. Special Forces are to work with the Turkish army to suppress the Kurds' guerrilla campaign. The Bush administration is trying to prevent another front from opening in Iraq, which would have disastrous consequences.…  Seguir leyendo »

Within a few weeks of becoming prime minister of Great Britain, I have come to the United States to affirm the historic partnership of shared purpose that unites our two countries.

Outside observers may think of even great alliances only in narrow, 19th-century terms: treaties of convenience driven forward by nothing more than mutual needs and current interests.

Yet I believe our Atlantic partnership is rooted in something far more fundamental and lasting than common interests or even common history: It is anchored in shared ideals that have for two centuries linked the destinies of our two countries. Winston Churchill spoke of what he called "the joint inheritance" of Britain and America.…  Seguir leyendo »

Viewed from Iraq, where we just spent eight days meeting with American and Iraqi military and civilian personnel, the political debate in Washington is surreal. The Bush administration has over four years lost essentially all credibility. Yet now the administration’s critics, in part as a result, seem unaware of the significant changes taking place.

Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.…  Seguir leyendo »

We scientists are kindly creatures, anxious to see only the best in our fellows. Consider a recent paper in Science magazine entitled “Via Freedom to Coercion: The Emergence of Costly Punishment”. The study was led by Christoph Hauert, of Harvard University.

The problem of punishment is simple. Imagine a tribe of hunter-gatherers. Imagine that all the men are brave and that they share equally in the risks of the hunt. Now imagine that one of those men is actually a creep, hiding behind a tree while the risks are being taken, and slipping out to grab a share of the food only after the beast is safely dead.…  Seguir leyendo »

Hay ideologías que, como si de una religión se tratara, imprimen carácter. Un carácter que, con frecuencia, sobrevive a la ideología que lo genera. Y esa persistencia es mayor en aquellas ideologías de vocación totalitaria -léase comunismo y socialismo- que se proponen -por utilizar su propia retórica- la noble tarea de liberar al hombre de sus cadenas. Pero, los tiempos cambian. Y han pasado cosas. Para empezar, el conocimiento científico del devenir histórico que aseguraban conocer los ideólogos y políticos de esos movimientos llamados emancipatorios fue refutado, una y otra vez, por la realidad. Después, todos los paraísos prometidos en la tierra se transformaron en su contrario, en dictaduras.…  Seguir leyendo »

When presidents of the United States make reassuring statements about the stock market, investors with any historic memory prepare to run for the hills. The most famous example was Herbert Hoover after the 1929 crash: “The business of America is sound.”

Last week global stock markets fell heavily. On Friday President Bush commented that: “The world economy is strong.” Until that point, I felt fairly sure that what was happening in stock markets was a relatively minor correction, a response of the equity markets to the problems of the debt markets. Now I am not so sure. President Bush has shaken my confidence in the world economy.…  Seguir leyendo »