Harold James for PS Longer Reads: The First Polycrisis

Harold James considers important parallels between the world today and the European revolutions of 1848. [View this message in a web browser]( [PS On Point]( AUGUST 4, 2023 In his sweeping new study of Europe's 1848 revolutions, historian Christopher Clark contends that, "It is in the nature of political problems that they cannot be ‘solved.’” In our own age of multiplying crises and declining trust in institutions, writes Princeton's Harold James, this is a lesson worth keeping in mind. [Read more](. [PS. Subscribe to PS Digital now.]( [PS Longer Reads: The First Polycrisis]( [The First Polycrisis]( By Harold James At a time of seemingly uncontrollable environmental, geopolitical, and economic crises, the revolutionary wave that swept Europe in 1848 has much to teach us. It, too, revealed the chaotic potential of an interconnected world, the limits of governance, and the path to a more manageable future. [Read more]( [PS Big Picture: Who Controls AI?]( [Who Controls AI?]( with Daron Acemoglu, Maria Eitel, Anne-Marie Slaughter, and more While generative artificial intelligence has inspired no shortage of doomsayers, whether the technology does more harm or good will depend on how it is developed, by whom, and to what ends. What will it take to ensure that AI innovation is pursued responsibly, and that the results are applied in ways that bring broad-based benefits? [Read more]( [PS Say More: Ian Buruma on Taiwan, the paradox of Pax Americana, and the truths political lies reveal]( [Ian Buruma on Taiwan, the paradox of Pax Americana, and the truths political lies reveal]( Ian Buruma suggests how the United States can defend democracy globally, warns that political violence could mar next year’s presidential election, and highlights the imagined realities that increasingly pervade political life, even in democracies. Buruma is the author of numerous books, including, most recently, [The Collaborators: Three Stories of Deception and Survival in World War II](. [Read more]( [PS Longer Reads: The Question of Collaboration]( [The Question of Collaboration]( By Michael Ignatieff It has taken two generations for most countries that were occupied by Nazi Germany to admit that it was the resisters, not the collaborators, who were the minority. But now we risk swinging too far the other way: normalizing collaboration and making resistance so exceptional that only saints would choose it. [Read more]( [PS. Subscribe to PS Premium now.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. Receipt of this newsletter does not guarantee rights to re-publish any of its content. This newsletter is a service of [Project Syndicate](. [Change your newsletter preferences](. Follow us on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( and [YouTube](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters](.