Clip Pile

The New Haven Review and the making of a new generation of public intellectuals

johnstoehr — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:44:13 +0000

Even as print space for books gets smaller, even as information technology continues to blast the mass-media glory of newspapers into a million little niches (thus making it harder to make money, thus making the space for books even smaller), a new generation of believers is emerging. They are weary of cynicism and the nostalgia for the past. They champion books, the craft of writing and the power of ideas. They see the present as an antidote, not as an antagonist, to the past. They see now as a time in which public intellectuals can be relevant to how life is lived.

Think of them as a kind of optimist’s book club.

From the New Haven Advocate.

Just When DeStefano Wins With New Haven Promise, He Loses With the Cops

johnstoehr — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:42:29 +0000

The past decade has seen tremendous improvements in the Yale-New Haven relationship. New Haven Promise is perhaps the high-water mark of that, a civic initiative aimed at the greater good that could transform the city.

Yet those gains can be easily lost if a culture of distrust hardens, especially among Yale students. The connection between Yale, public education and law enforcement should now be clear. DeStefano’s own police department is impeding the mayor’s noble efforts to make New Haven a beacon of progressive values. It’s time to change, and that change can’t happen soon enough.

From the New Haven Advocate.

You Have The Right To Work

johnstoehr — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:40:06 +0000

You see, according to this theory, there is no such thing as “involuntary unemployment.” People like Rembold — and the 3,300 workers who may end up losing their jobs with UTC at the end of next year — choose to be out of work.

The theory assumes people are rational beings operating according to their self-interest. It assumes that, because America is the land of opportunity, failure is your fault. You can find work. It’s there. Bite the bullet. Swallow your pride. The theory has a lot in common with the idea of the rugged American. Reagan made them one and the same, and since the 1980s, people like Rembold, hard-working white men without college educations, have believed it.

But such economic theories do not take into account all the forces beyond a man’s control — such as globalization, automation and a political structure oriented by business interests. Because it does not take into account forces beyond a man’s control, advocates of classical macroeconomic theory tend to see unemployment with condescending eyes.

from the New Haven Advocate.