If it raises a war chest and attracts enough politicians from both sides, it could represent more than half the people ideologically and win most states It is commonly thought that the United States has a two-party system, but there is in fact no reason other than inertia for this to be the case. While getting on the ballot can be difficult, nothing in the law excludes a third party, or even a ninth. …

Everything stays the same, until it doesn’t It has been a year since Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine. According to most estimates 100,000 troops have been killed on each side, and almost 10,000 Ukrainian civilians. And yet, little has changed in the position of the sides: Russia is sticking to its absurd narrative of…

Everyone talks about Ukraine, but the damage Putin has done to Russia is astonishing Criticism of democracy is not new: thinkers from Plato to Socrates to Voltaire to Hobbes have expressed such sentiments, united by a common skepticism that average people possess enough of a clue to be trusted with any influence. Recent election results in countries as diverse as the United States, Britain…

AKA: My beloved Eagles are in the Super Bowl! The world is full of people who call on others to be more rational. I should know — I’m one of them. But if they’re sports fans, such people should put their own house in order first. Upon reflection few of…

Imagine if it wasn’t clear to people that the Nazis invaded Poland, there is a vaccine for polio, apartheid existed in South Africa or two plus two is four. Imagine dark forces convincing half the population that facts are “fake news.” What ramparts keep idiocracy at bay? Is it education…

Israel’s new government is trying to dismantle a fragile but impressive democracy that has somehow survived despite the terrible circumstances of the West Bank occupation. Its goal is to turn the Jewish state into an authoritarian fake-democracy like Poland, Hungary and Turkey; down the road lies the Russia model. Israel…

Israel’s new far-right government is being welcomed the all the joy of a five-alarm fire by half the population and by many of the country’s traditional friends around the world. Its enemies might well rejoice at what looks like a significant step toward self-immolation. The natural inclination of sober-minded people…

One thing I have discovered in my travels is that people who reach the very top of any organization — a company, a government or even a newsroom — often lack a basic instinct that constrains the rest of us: they don’t mind looking ridiculous. I have been near the…

Volodymyr Zelensky emerges from this week’s riveting visit to Washington, and indeed from the year, as a master messenger who expertly deploys the foundational elements of plot and character. Ukraine’s president never strays from the message of good versus evil, David versus Goliath and democrat versus despot. With a straight…