Its primacy as a technology hub is on the wane. That is cause for concern "Like Florence in the Renaissance." That is a common description of what it is like to live in Silicon Valley. America's technology capital has an outsize influence on the world's economy, stockmarkets and culture. This small portion of land running from San Jose to San Francisco is home to three of the world's five most v..
But China may block attempts to refer Burmese army commanders to the International Criminal Court A year on from the start of the assault by Myanmar's army on the Muslim Rohingya of Rakhine state, the UN human-rights council has finally issued its verdict. It is as damning as it is comprehensive. It is unequivocal about the fact there is fully enough evidence to try Burmese army commanders for t..
An exodus of Korean-Chinese has changed them Tall jars filled with rice beer await customers by the riverside in Yanji, a city in north-eastern China close to the border with North Korea. Servers in aprons fork out spicy salads from rows of red plastic bowls. Atop a nearby trestle table a butcher has laid out three skinned dogs. The early-morning market exudes the distinctive character of Yanbia..
The EPA is dedicated to unpicking Obama-era policies, even those that are not actually in force Once upon a time, back when America was great, coal was king. Then came Barack Obama. He laid the once-mighty industry low through onerous regulation, especially the hated Clean Power Plan (CPP). On August 21st, President Donald Trump, before an appreciative crowd in Charleston, West Virginia, persona..
In a flawed and complex world, we must err on the side of life, writes Emilie Yerby There is so much we get wrong in the provision of health and care services. Everyone has a story: of misdiagnosis, of receiving the wrong treatment, of hopeless gaps in communication or care. Sometimes such things happen through deliberate cruelty or neglect, but more often through ordinary human fallibility, and..
Canada's example has lessons for other countries, says Steven Fletcher What it means to be alive versus living a full life are not abstract thought exercises to me. In 1996, at the age of 23, I became a quadriplegic. As a recent engineering graduate from the University of Manitoba, driving to work at a mining job, I hit a moose with my car. In an instant I was completely paralyzed from the neck ..
Increased competition between suppliers means buyers have the upper hand Only a few months ago, Canadians were earnestly debating whether or not the country's Liberal administration was right to go ahead with executing a $12bn contract to deliver armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia. The government said it would, but acknowledged its critics' concerns by agreeing to adopt a version of an internatio..
Liberals who repress speech to prevent harm risk inviting authoritarianism, writes Claire Fox of the Academy of Ideas If ever there was a vivid illustration of illiberal liberalism, it was the response to one of the essays in this very series. After The Economist published an article by Kathleen Stock, reader in philosophy at the University of Sussex, which sensitively questioned whether "self-d..
The internet has transformed the search for love and partnership The internet has transformed the way people work and communicate. It has upended industries, from entertainment to retailing. But its most profound effect may well be on the biggest decision that most people make - choosing a mate. In the early 1990s the notion of meeting a partner online seemed freakish, and not a little pathetic...
Many parents also find them a struggle The summer holidays have just begun, but it is a busy morning at Cadoxton Primary School, in Barry, an industrial town in Wales. It runs a summer programme for hard-up children, providing meals and activities over the holidays. As youngsters run laughing and screaming into the school cafeteria for breakfast, their parents saunter out, some visibly relieved...
Ten teams provided nearly half of the talent, yet received a fifth of the compensation The new football season kicks off this weekend in many European countries, less than a month after the World Cup finished. The English Premier League, which commences on August 10th, has had the shortest break in its history. That has caused grumbling from many managers at top clubs, whose star players have ha..
Moderator Callum Williams, The Economist August 7th 2018 There is a growing sense across the rich world that capitalism does not work as it should. In many countries wages have barely grown over the past decade, while the rich seem to be running away with all the gains. Many economists, including those at this newspaper, argue that common factor explaining all of these ills is that firms have to..
Researchers differ on whether rising wages gave the impetus to industrialize How much yarn per day could an 18th-century British woman spin? Such questions are catnip for economic historians, whose debates typically unfold unnoticed by anyone outside their field. But a running debate concerning the productivity of pre-industrial spinners, and related questions, is spilling beyond academia. Each ..
No one is happy with Japan's workstyle, but it is proving hard to change Yoshihisa Aono could be a model for Japanese executives. The offices of Cybozu, his software company, would appear staid were they in Palo Alto. But they are radical for central Tokyo, where each day waves of black-suited Stakhanovites make their way to grimly utilitarian offices. Slap-bang in the center of Cybozu's headqua..
Rising energy demand means use of fossil fuel is heading in the wrong direction Earth is smouldering. From Seattle to Siberia this summer, flames have consumed swathes of the northern hemisphere. One of 18 wildfires sweeping through California, among the worst in the state's history, is generating such heat that it created its own weather. Fires that raged through a coastal area near Athens last..