Utilitarianism and The Neoconservative Conceit
What J.S. Mill would say about modern American adventurism.
On the Newsstand:Human Rights
KONY 2012: Beyond the Critiques
KONY 2012 is flawed, but it can still teach us about advocacy in the internet age.
The Corruption of Language
Shariar Mandanipour on dissidence, censorship, and the freedom to write in Iran
Internet Takes on the Chinese Government
Why an average case of Chinese corruption has become a national, internet-driven frenzy. With the recent conclusion of President Hu’s official state visit to the United States, it is a good time to assess what was actually accomplished during this meeting. Call me a cynic, but I never expected much from this summit in terms of concrete promises or even ... Read More
ADL Disappoints on “Ground Zero Mosque” Issue
The manufactured controversy over what has ludicrously come to be called the “Ground Zero Mosque” has a lot of depressing aspects. But easily the most surprising and, for me, upsetting development is that the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish human rights organization, has sided with Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and the other opportunistic GOP pols who are exploiting this issue. A ... Read More
M.I.A’s Born Free: Violence to End Violence?
Since M.I.A. came out with “Born Free” a few days ago, a lot of people on the web have been praising it for its bold political message. The video portrays an English-speaking police state which appears to be carrying out some kind of genocide against red-headed youths. There are several graphically violent shots, including a shocker towards the end, that ... Read More
E.U.: Vacationing a Human Right
In a bold step intended to reduce poverty, the European Union will soon be providing some of the Continent’s poorest citizens with subsidized plane tickets and hotel rooms. The Toronto-based National Post reported on Monday that the European Union has declared traveling for tourism a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayer money for those ... Read More
Half the Sky
Last week was slavery week on the HPRgument (apparently!). We talked about “intern slavery,” twice, and then American slavery. But what about today? Slavery of course is still a very real problem; in absolute terms, by every estimate, there are more slaves today than there ever were in history, and the trade of human lives is more active and more hazardous ... Read More
