Project Syndicate - the Smartest Op-Ed Articles from the World's Thought Leaders

World Affairs
When Leaders Are True to Their Lies
Ricardo Hausmann

World Affairs
When Leaders Are True to Their Lies

Ricardo Hausmann DEC 23, 2016 20

Ricardo Hausmann worries that US President-elect Donald Trump actually believes his campaign rhetoric on trade.
Anadolu Agency/ Getty Images
All governments lie, and some even believe their own lies; but things get dangerous when a government acts in order to be true to its lies. This is the trap into which the Venezuelan government has fallen, and it seems to be the logic behind the incoming Trump administration's apparent determination to withdraw from NAFTA. READ MORE
World Affairs
Aleppo’s Sobering Lessons
Richard N. Haass

World Affairs
Aleppo’s Sobering Lessons

Richard N. Haass DEC 23, 2016 25

Richard N. Haass says that anyone engaging Syria with limited will and limited means must set limited goals.
George Ourfalian/Stringer
The fall of Aleppo to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is neither the end of the beginning nor the beginning of the end of Syria’s long civil war. It merely shows that those who engage Syria with limited will and limited means must set limited goals if they are to accomplish even a limited amount of good. READ MORE
Economics
The Crisis of Market Fundamentalism
Anatole Kaletsky

Economics
The Crisis of Market Fundamentalism

Anatole Kaletsky DEC 23, 2016 39

Anatole Kaletsky views the political upheavals of 2016 through the lens of previous capitalist breakdowns.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
When a particular model of capitalism is working successfully, material progress relieves political pressures. But, as we saw in 2016, when the economy fails – and the failure is not just a transient phase but a symptom of deep contradictions – capitalism’s disruptive social side effects can turn politically toxic. READ MORE
World Affairs
Russia’s Hybrid War Against the West
Guy Verhofstadt

World Affairs
Russia’s Hybrid War Against the West

Guy Verhofstadt DEC 23, 2016 14

Guy Verhofstadt urges Europe to strengthen its defenses against Russian electoral meddling, before it's too late.
Ilmars Znotins/Stringer
As Russian President Vladimir Putin made plain during the US election campaign, the Kremlin is no longer playing by the rules that applied even during the darkest days of the Cold War. With voters heading to the polls in France, Germany, and the Netherlands in 2017, Europe faces a threat that it is only just beginning to comprehend. READ MORE
Economics
Economists versus the Economy
Robert Skidelsky

Economics
Economists versus the Economy

Robert Skidelsky DEC 23, 2016 27

Robert Skidelsky thinks the discipline should require much more than aptitude for formal mathematical models.
PeopleImages/Getty Images
If you believe that economies are like machines, you will likely view economic problems as essentially problems of mathematics. But the great economists throughout history, such as John Maynard Keynes and Joseph Schumpeter, have always understood that an approach emphasizing formal precision has severe limitations. READ MORE

When Leaders Are True to Their Lies

Aleppo’s Sobering Lessons

The Crisis of Market Fundamentalism

Russia’s Hybrid War Against the West

Economists versus the Economy

The Trump Enigma

John Andrews asks whether Carl Bildt, Joschka Fischer, Ana Palacio, and other Project Syndicate commentators are right to be so uneasy about the incoming US administration.

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