Last month some highly illuminating research was published among the Tulane University Economics Working Papers[*1]. The authors, James Alm and Janet Rogers, are respected experts in the neglected (by the public and legislators) field of tax policy outcomes. They undertook to systematically study the 48 contiguous U.S. States between 1947 and 1997, employing 130 explanatory variables, to find correlations between State tax and expenditures and long-term economic performance. Read more »
Category Archives: AK - Blog 2011 - Page 4
Sunday, May 22, 2011 — Conservative Fiscal Policies and Economic Performance at State Level
Posted by Phil Paine
on May 22, 2011
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Monday, May 2, 2011— Folly Reigns in Canada
Posted by Phil Paine
on May 2, 2011
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The results of the Canadian federal election are so depressing that I can’t bring myself to comment at length. Canadians have rewarded one of their worst and most morally offensive governments with a parliamentary majority. We have already, thanks to Stephen Harper’s Conservative administration, plunged from financial solvency to crippling debt. Harper has shown his contempt for Canadian tradition and democracy a hundred times over, and committed genuine acts of treason. We will now live in the thrall of doctrinaire Conservative filth and corruption, ruled (rather than served) by one of the slimiest bastards in the country’s history. Read more »
Ordering The Secret History of Democracy online
Posted by Phil Paine
on January 17, 2011
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It’s a bit pricey for most people I know, but if you’re in a position to recommend it to a library, faculty, or institution, do so. In addition to chapters by myself and old friend Steven Muhlberger, the contributors are Benjamin Isakhan, Stephen Stockwell, John Keane, Larissa Behrendt, Pauline Keating, Mohamad Abdalla & Halim Rane, Patricia Pires Boulhosa, Luisa Gandolfo, I.Kissa, and P.Fry.
Pre-orders in Canada from Chapters-Indigo online (available April 12)
in the U.S.A from Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble (available April 12)
in the U.K. and Europe from Amazon.uk (available February 11)
in Australia from EmporiumBooks.com.au (available March 11)
“The thought-provoking essays gathered in The Secret History of Democracy provide convincing evidence that democratic mechanisms have been invented many times and in many places, including times and places neglected in common accounts. This collection is a sobering reminder that democratic practices have often been succeeded by something else. But one also takes away a sense of the dynamic character of democratic history and the endless diversity of practices with some reasonable claim to embody democratic principles. As growing numbers wonder about what sorts of political institutions make sense in the face of the enormous problems confronting the twenty-first century, this demonstration of the long human history of political creativity gives some reason for hope.”
-John Markoff
“A fascinating, thought-provoking and well-informed survey of little-known “roots of democracy” and “proto-democratic” systems and movements across the globe , from ancient and “primitive” to modern societies. An eye-opener that forces us to differentiate more carefully and to rethink the history of democracy.”
- Kurt Raaflaub
“This exciting book surely enlivens and enriches our debate on democracy and its future by digging afresh oft-forgotten, yet most enlightening democratic experiences found in human history. ”
- Takashi Inoguchi
Image of the month: Jean Sibelius
Posted by Phil Paine
on January 1, 2011
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Jean Sibelius has remained my favourite composer throughout my life. Something in his work touches me directly. One of my greatest pleasures was to attend the unique concert series in which all his symphonies were performed (for the first time) in sequence, under the direction of the young and brilliant conductor Thomas Dausgaard. When I told him, during the post-performance reception, that it was the best performance of the 4th symphony (my favourite) I had ever heard, he replied that it was his favourite as well.. giving much the same reasons I would have. It is the most difficult, and perhaps the least played of the seven symphonies.… dark, ambiguous, complex, and intriguing.
This photograph is by Jousuf Karsh, the Canadian portrait photographer who made iconic images of Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemmingway, and many others. Karsh remembered details of the sitting:
“I arrived at Sibelius’s home ‘Ainola,’ named for his wife Aino, laden with gifts from his admirers — an inscribed manuscript from composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, a warm letter from Olin Downes, the celebrated music critic of the New York Times, a box of his favorite cigars and a bottle of old cognac from the Canadian High Commissioner in London. This last we shared with little Finnish cookies and coffee. His daughter interpreted for the straight-backed patriarch of eighty-four, although there was such a meeting of minds that words became scarcely necessary. The structure of his face reminded me of carved granite, yet with infinite warmth and humanity. This photograph was one of the last taken. He was visibly moved as I told him how the Finnish workers, in their northern Canadian logging camps, doubled their wartime output when his Finlandia was played for them.”
The links go to related articles on this blog. Some others:
The Kalevala, is the Finnish epic that inspired much of Sibelius’ music. A youthful work of his, Kullervo Op.7, is a choral-orchestral telling of part of the epic. I also discuss it here. En Saga, Op.9 is another. I have also written blog items about his string quartets, and his first symphony.