Translated with the support of the Institut français
Is expertise about poverty possible in a country where the phenomenon itself is deemed morally perverse? In a recent book, Romain Huret analyzes the intellectual network that crystallized around the “war on poverty” in the 1960s.
What sums of money are hidden in tax havens? By whom? And how? Using original methodology and data that has not yet been fully utilized, Gabriel Zucman sheds new light on these questions, in the hope that it might boost the fight against tax havens.
Protectionism does not date from the 1930s; in fact it was invented in the nineteenth century by German, French and American theorists wary of British commercial power. The historian David Todd thinks that this genealogy – which is often ignored – reduces the taint of nationalism that can cling to the idea of protectionism.
In the United States, empowerment strategies emphasizing commitments that are brief, informal, and fun have proved tone deaf to the political importance of associations. If civic engagement is to play a role in social change, citizens must realize that voluntary associations also depend on conflict and professionalization—as well as a prominent role on the part of the state.
In a book devoted to economic anxieties in France, two economists well known in the blogosphere try to make their field accessible while conveying its complexity.
François Godement reminds us that the process of economic and cultural integration that is currently taking place in Asia is undermined by the heavy militarization of the countries in that region, by their competing visions of history and by diverse political factors of instability.
How do you recognize a happy person? A team of ethnologists recently tried to answer this question, in a volume that considers topics ranging from neo-rural communities in southern France to desert marathon-runners. The results are mixed, but the study manages to lay the groundwork for an ethological approach to happiness as a social experience.
For some time, Tunisia prided itself on championing secularism and women’s rights. This smokescreen concealing the regime’s excesses encouraged complacency in the French political class. A reconsideration is in order, now that the Jasmine Revolution has paved the way for a legal and institutional overhaul.