Word: modernism
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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More than 100 years before the French and American revolutions, a series of convulsions in Britain built the essentials of the modern democratic state. A civil war, and then what was termed "the Glorious Revolution," established the constitutional primacy of Parliament - a body whose principal chamber is accountable to, and removable by, the popular will, expressing itself in periodic elections. A "parliamentary democracy" is how Britain describes itself, with both pride and, occasionally, condescension for those (as they say) in less happy lands...
Right now, neither pride nor condescension is the order of the day. Revelations of the tawdry behavior of modern MPs - expensing everything from improvements to second homes to their spouse's porn - have led to popular outrage in Britain and claimed the scalp of the Speaker of the House of Commons, a supposedly above-the-fray symbol of Parliament's reputation. The scandal has exposed what anyone who has spent time in the House of Commons knows well; that many of its members are has-beens and never-will-bes, self-important rhetoricians inebriated (as one truly great parliamentarian said...
...Looking to the West Are such huge projects really necessary? China, with its gleaming coastal cities and modern transport hubs, is already the envy of developing countries like India. And from Alaska to Japan, there are plenty of examples around the world of infrastructure projects that owed more to local politicking than to real economic need. Most of China's stimulus spending, critics note, will be supervised by local governments. This will undoubtedly mean that some money will end up lining the pockets of corrupt bureaucrats...
...supplementing the drones with development aid, much of it earmarked for the tribal areas. But can that money start working its magic before the resentments roused by the drone campaign metastasize into an irreversible jihad? On that question of timing may hinge the success or failure of a modern war fought in an ancient environment...
...party for eight years, Bush, whose faith-based leadership alienated many who believe in secular government. His obstinacy in the face of evolving public opinion in favor of stem-cell research, equality for same-sex couples and women's reproductive rights underscored his failure to feel the pulse of modern America. Most of all, his my-way-or-the-highway foreign policy made the U.S. a global pariah. Bill Gottdenker, MOUNTAINSIDE...