A Conversation with John le Carré and Ben McIntyre

A Conversation with John le Carré and Ben McIntyre, The New York Times

Encouraging Good Writers

What Parents Can Do to Nurture Good Writers. An interview by Dana Goldstein. The New York Times, August 2, 2017. Read the article here. 

CHINA STEPS UP INVESTMENT IN AFRICA

Four hundred years ago, more or less, Isaac Newton told us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The notion of homeostasis applies a similar idea in a different way, suggesting that change in one area of a system dictates change in another. And so we find one of the great axioms of life. Whenever one thing wanes, another waxes. One lessens, the other increases.

As the United States withdraws from engagement with the world others, most notably China, have stepped in to fill the void. Trains, power plants, investment in agricultural production. Providing financing, technical support, and operational assistance. We back away, they step up. Our influence wanes, theirs waxes.

See below, Andrew Jacobs, "Joyous Africans Take to the Rails, With China's Help," The New York Times, February 7, 2017

America In The Age of Socrates

Socrates made a fatal mistake. He thought the Greeks wanted to know the truth. What he learned, albeit too late to make a difference, was that truth no longer mattered. The Greeks only wanted to be persuaded - to be moved - to be stirred. Truth, it seems, had been redefined to mean only that of which one could persuade another. And now we enter that age ourselves.

Truth and Lies in the Age of Trump, The New York Times, December 10, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/10/opinion/truth-and-lies-in-the-age-of-trump.html?_r=0

The Past Is Always With US

"Hitler increasingly presented himself in messianic terms, promising to 'lead Germany to a new era of national greatness,' though he was typically vague about his actual plans."

Kakutani, Michiko, From 'Dunderhead' to Demagogue, The New York Times, September 28, 2016

Reviewing Hitler: Ascent 1889-1930 by Volker Ullrich (Knopf)

The Past Has A Way of Repeating Itself

"Here, 'Hitler adapted the content of his speeches to suit the tastes of his lower-middle-class, nationalist-conservative, ethnic-chauvinist and anti-Semitic listeners,' Ullrich writes. He peppered his speeches with coarse phrases and put-downs of hecklers. Even as he fomented chaos by playing on crowds' fears and resentments, he offered himself as the visionary leader who could restore law and order."

Kakutani, Michiko, From 'Dunderhead to Demagogue, The New York Times, September 28, 2016

Reviewing Hitler: Ascent 1889-1930 by Volker Ullrich