Against Despair

Michael Tomasky: How our misreading of history harms progressivism today.

The Baby Business

E.J. Graff: U.S. couples adopting from abroad often think they’re helping vulnerable children. The reality is more complex—and poorly regulated.

America 2021: The Military and the World

The Defense Roundtable: Our largest threat: Pakistan. Our alliances: reshuffled by demographics. Terrorism: on the wane (maybe). New frontier for conflict: the Arctic cirlce. Four experts discuss

The Rove Legacy

Thomas B. Edsall: He concedes nothing. He accepts no responsibility. He blames liberals. Why Karl Rove is still an icon for today’s Republicans.

The Hezbollah Problem

Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson: To defang Iran, and help Lebanon and Israel, we must demilitarize Hezbollah. Which means we’ll have to talk to them.

The Debate Inside Iran

Nader Hashemi: Some fascinating Iranian intellectuals are laying the groundwork for democracy. What chance of success do they have?

Economic Autopsies

Charles R. Morris: Is America stable enough to come roaring back—or so in hock to large capital that more failure is preordained?

All in the Mespoche

Peter Steinfels: America may have succumbed to Commentary magazine’s exhortations, but most Jews never did.

Mr. Public Interest

Michael Waldman: Louis Brandeis—inventor of public-interest law, the right to privacy, and his famous Brief, all before he went to the Supreme Court—is worth a fresh look today.

Editor’s Note

Michael Tomasky: Michael Tomasky introduces Issue #17.

Toward an i-Welfare State

James P. Pinkerton: When will all the benefits of e-commerce come to e-government? A response to the previous issue’s symposium on liberalism.

Letters to the Editor

Democracy Readers: Letters from our readers.

V-Day in the Culture Wars

Ethan Porter: The culture wars are over, and we’ve won. We should learn to celebrate that—and move on to the next battle that demands our attention.