Did a “new world order” materialize out of communism’s collapse and the Gulf War, only to impose itself now on Iraq? With 9/11 a convenient, mediating excuse? The events of 1989-1991 produced vast change, but I think fluidity resulted-a new …
Plans for a Postwar Iraq
When U.S. troops entered Baghdad, I was very glad to see the pictures of Iraqis celebrating freedom from Saddam’s dictatorship. Not because they changed my view that the war was wrong, but because they meant that for some Iraqis the …
New Challenges for the Left
As I write in mid-May, what George W. Bush has described as “the second battle in the war on terrorism” appears to have been won. My charge is immensely easier than that presented to those who, in winter, were asked …
War Against Virtual States
The most fateful and clever decision made by George W. Bush’s administration in the days just after September 11, 2001, was the decision to call the American response to terrorism a war. So much becomes possible in a war that …
Imagine for a moment what would happen if the European Union applied for membership in the European Union. Its application would be flatly rejected. Why? Because the European Union doesn’t live up to its own criteria of democracy, of Europeanness. …
I am, of course, very grateful to Henry Shue and Richard Weisberg for their thoughtful comments. I will address them in order. I am not convinced there is much difference between Shue and me. I was touched by the eloquence …
Sometime soon, the forty-nine years of Dissent will be available online—every article in every issue. Right now, we post a number of key articles on our Web site as soon as the “real” issue—paper, ink, and glue—appears; and after a …
Political Criticism in an Age of Entertainment
It is hard to know what to say. At this moment, it looks as if our country is headed into a “war of choice” that we should not have chosen. When you read this issue of Dissent, we will be …
In the last one hundred years, war-induced worries about unity and loyalty have led to fears of foreigners in our midst and campaigns to restrict their rights and opportunities. This has been especially true at times, such as the 1910s …
Dear ______, I knew something had gone wrong by the time the Dissent public forum called “Patriotism in a Time of War” ended that evening last October in New York City. Some people in the audience (although by no means …
During the first month of this year, the nation’s major newspapers used the phrase “class warfare” in 267 stories, compared with 372 times in all of 2002. One might think the revolution is at hand. The reality, though, has more …
