The potential price for the rest of the world of Trump’s America first. What today divides the sexes? Is the end of greenwashing in view? What unites disparate conspiracists? Deciphering the glorious logic of animal patterns.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Hal Brands, An “America First” World
(Foreign Affairs, 27 May 2024)
Trump’s recent conviction makes him more electable, not less; so it’s worth looking at what his return might mean for ‘global order’. A sobering read. Trump believes the US has no obligation to pursue anything larger than its own self-interest, narrowly construed. “America First” means it might be more aggressive than before on certain issues but would also be far less concerned with defending global norms, providing public goods, and protecting distant allies. Its foreign policy would become less principled, more zero-sum. In a nutshell, “Trump bemoans the costs and belittles the benefits of U.S. alliances; he bristles at the asymmetries of a global economy Washington has long overseen. He evinces little interest in supporting democracy or protecting important if intangible norms such as nonaggression”. The consequences would be monumentally bad, particularly for US closest allies (metered paywall that may require prior registration, around 10 min).
Click here to read the full article
Nicholas Kristof, Less Marriage, Less Sex, Less Agreement
(The New York Times, 30 May 2024)
Most concerning. Are these a structural trend? Possibly. There is considerable evidence of a growing political, cultural and social divide between men and women throughout the industrialized world. Surveys point out that young women are becoming more liberal and young men more conservative; that boys and men blame their problems on feminism, that the radical right increasingly finds fertile ground among young men (impacting elections) and so on. According to a Brookings study, “the social bonds of previous generations appear to be eroding among young people, and this has serious consequences for coupling, future birthrates and social cohesion.” Perhaps this gender divide will reverse and fix itself. Or perhaps, as some women suggest, it’s not a problem, or a problem for men alone (gifted article, reads in 7-9 min).
Click here to read the full article
Michael Bloomberg, The End of Greenwashing Is Now Within Sight
(Bloomberg, 28 May 2024)
The UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions (and owner of Bloomberg) argues that the Biden administration’s new plan to overhaul the voluntary carbon market is an important step forward. The market for credits remains opaque and riddled with inefficiency (buyers can’t be sure which credits are credible, projects often don’t deliver what they promise, and sellers can’t be held accountable), which opens the door for greenwashing. Hopefully, the policy statement and set of principles released by the US administration will contribute to make the market for carbon credits more transparent, trusted and standardized – three essential qualities to make it much bigger and efficient (gifted article, 4-6 min).
Click here to read the full article
Christopher Conner, What QAnon supporters, butthole sunners and New Age spiritualists have in common
(The Conversation, 28 May 2024)
We tend to associate conspiracy theories with certain demographics or political leanings. But the reality is far more nuanced with recent research showing that there is far more diversity among conspiracists than scholars previously thought. While seemingly unrelated at first glance, conspiracy theories share common themes: they’re united by distrust in mainstream institutions and they long for alternative belief systems that confirm their existing beliefs and ignore contradicting evidence. And they undermine societal institutions (free access, 4-6 min).
Click here to read the full article
Amber Dance, Spots, stripes and more: Working out the logic of animal patterns
(Knowledgeable, 23 May 2024)
Animals have evolved a dizzying array of patterns (stripes, spots, diamonds, chevrons, hexagons and even mazelike designs). Some arise simply or randomly, but others develop via complex, precise interactions of pattern-generating systems. Their beauty aside, the intricacies of these systems are inspiring the scientists who aim to elucidate how the tiger got its stripes, the cheetah its spots and so on. More than 70 years ago, the mathematician Alan Turing proposed a model to explain how patterns can emerge from bland uniformity. Scientists are still using it, while adding new twists (free access, reads in around 10 min).
Click here to read the full article
