26 August 2017
Artistic Freedom in Russia
In recent years, Kirill
Serebrennikov, a well-known Russian film and theater director, has been highly
critical of increasing artistic censorship and social conservatism in his
country. Earlier, this summer, "[t]he premiere of his ballet based on the life of Rudolf Nureyev was cancelled
at the Bolshoi ... probably because it highlighted the
dancer’s homosexuality." ("Politics This Week." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, Ltd, 24 Aug. 2017:5). Last week, Serebrennikov was arrested and charged with misappropriating government arts funding. A number of prominent Russian performing artists have come to Serebrennikov's defense; they argue that Serebrennikov was arrested on trumped-up charges in order to intimidate Russian artists and ensure that they do not criticize President Vladimir Putin in the run-up to next year's presidential election.
Jail Terms for Hong Kong Protest Leaders Lead to Further Protests
Two weeks ago, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal sentenced three local activists to jail terms ranging from six to eight months for leading pro-democracy protests in the territory in 2014. (The sentences also made the activists ineligible to run for public office for the next five years). The announcement of the sentences led to sizeable demonstrations in Hong Kong in which protesters accused the Chinese government of failing to honor the commitments it made, when Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, to respect civil liberties in the territory, to permit Hong Kong to enjoy substantial political autonomy, and to establish democratic political institutions in the territory. The protesters also accused the Chinese Communist Party of interfering with the independence of Hong Kong's judiciary:
https://www.economist.com/news/china/21727063-does-territory-now-have-political-prisoners-jailing-three-activists-hong-kong-causes
https://www.economist.com/news/china/21727063-does-territory-now-have-political-prisoners-jailing-three-activists-hong-kong-causes
Doing Business in Nigeria
The World Bank ranks countries on ease of doing business. In 2016, for example, New Zealand was named the easiest country in which to do business while Somalia was named the hardest country in which to do business. The United States was ranked eighth. Nigeria, which has the largest economy in Africa, was ranked 169th out of the 190 countries evaluated. An article in a recent issue of The Economist explains why:
https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21727119-regulatory-racket-means-businesses-stay-small-and-shadows-high-cost
https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21727119-regulatory-racket-means-businesses-stay-small-and-shadows-high-cost
18 August 2017
Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better
In the 1960s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), then led by
Mao Zedong, launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The Cultural
Revolution sought to stamp out traditional Chinese culture in the name of
building an entirely new type of human society (and an entirely new type of
human being). Its methods were totalitarian: the Party was purged of “reactionary”
elements, ordinary Chinese workers and farmers were required to study the
political thought of Marx, Lenin and Mao in weekly study sessions, millions of
Chinese were arrested and imprisoned for years in labor camps, and hundreds of
thousands of Chinese were tortured and killed. Among other things, the Cultural
Revolution was intended to ensure that the Chinese “masses” developed a “politically
correct” ideology and, as a result, that they enthusiastically supported the CCP’s policies
and its continued control of the Chinese government.
Today, the CCP is led by Xi Jinping. Under Xi’s leadership,
the CCP has encouraged Chinese citizens to embrace traditional Chinese culture
(that is, the CCP’s version of traditional Chinese culture), in an effort to
build support among ordinary Chinese people for continued CCP political
control:
12 August 2017
European Countries Guarantee Universal Access to Healthcare in Different Ways
Following the adoption of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the proportion of Americans with health insurance rose to 90%. By contrast, every country in Europe ensures that all of its residents have access to healthcare. Moreover, healthcare is less expensive in Europe than it is in the United States. 17% of US Gross Domestic Product is spent on healthcare; no European country devotes more than 12% of its economy to healthcare. Worse still, by almost any measure Americans are less healthy than Europeans.
There are three different systems used in European countries to ensure that all residents have access to healthcare. An article in this week's issue of The Economist explains the differences in these three systems of healthcare provision:
https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21726124-policymakers-should-take-close-look-fix-american-health-care-can-be-found
As you read this article, bear in mind that The Economist (a British publication) is generally considered to be a pro-free market, pro-business magazine. The notion that it is the government's responsibility to ensure universal access to healthcare is not a "left-wing" idea in Europe; it is a value shared across the political spectrum.
There are three different systems used in European countries to ensure that all residents have access to healthcare. An article in this week's issue of The Economist explains the differences in these three systems of healthcare provision:
https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21726124-policymakers-should-take-close-look-fix-american-health-care-can-be-found
As you read this article, bear in mind that The Economist (a British publication) is generally considered to be a pro-free market, pro-business magazine. The notion that it is the government's responsibility to ensure universal access to healthcare is not a "left-wing" idea in Europe; it is a value shared across the political spectrum.
05 August 2017
China Modernizes Its Armed Forces
The People's Liberation Army (PLA), China's military, includes land, sea and air forces. Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the PLA's primary responsibilities have been to maintain internal security and to defend the country from invasion. In recent years, however, the Chinese government has modernized the PLA in order to assert more effectively Chinese interests in East Asia and the Indian Ocean. In particular, the PLA is developing a "blue-water navy" (i.e., a navy capable of operating in the middle of the ocean, beyond a country's shallow coastal waters). This year, moreover, the PLA established its first foreign base in Djibouti, a country in the Horn of Africa that also hosts American and French military bases:
https://www.economist.com/news/china/21725812-overhaul-says-lot-about-xi-jinpings-governing-style-reform-chinas-army-enters-new-phase
https://www.economist.com/news/china/21725812-overhaul-says-lot-about-xi-jinpings-governing-style-reform-chinas-army-enters-new-phase
