Staff

Watching Myths Unwind

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I want to step back from our gargantuan dilemmas of 2009 and reflect on the East German intelligentsia I interviewed in 1990-1992 at the time of the unification of Germany…these East Germans faced the destruction of their national myth, which held that socialism was the true victor over Nazism and that capitalism’s demise was inevitable. In America unquestioned belief in growth has inspired us throughout our history, yet it is going the way of the East German’s mythology.

Open letter to the Queen

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We, the undersigned, noted with interest the letter to Your Majesty of 22nd July 2009 from the British Academy in which they respond to your question about how the current economic meltdown was missed. They talked of a “failure of the collective imagination of many bright people” and a “psychology of denial”.

International Experts to Speak at ASPO Conference

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With our world at the convergence of peak oil and climate change, ASPO’s 2009 International Peak Oil Conference, titled System Reset: Global Energy and the New Economy, brings together experts from around the world to offer timely perspectives on the future of oil and its impact on the global economy. The event will be held at the Sheraton Hotel, Denver, Colorado, October 10-13, 2009; early registration ends Friday, August 21.

The Incredible Shrinking Boomer Economy

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I am 53 years old, which makes me a post-World War II “Baby Boomer” (those born between 1946 and 1964). First off, I want to issue a blanket apology to younger cohorts (generations X & Y) for the excesses of my generation. No generation in the human history was given so large an opportunity to ravage the Earth through excess consumption, and Boomers did not squander that opportunity. No generation has adversely affected the welfare of future generations as the Boomers have. So much for Woodstock and the Age of Aquarius.