Equity and Political Economy in Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes is often viewed as a seminal figure in the development of the homo economicus philosophical anthropology central to the acquisitive, bourgeois morality of liberal modernity. The present study challenges this interpretation of Hobbes as an antecedent to free market ideology by arguing that his political economy presupposed a complex relation between contract, law, and social networks of credit informed by prudence and robust norms of equity. The normative claims of equity permeate Hobbes's holistic account of political economy and inform his vision of liberal statecraft that gave priority to prudential judgment against economic determinism, especially as Hobbes understood trade, taxation, allocation of resources, and the provision of social welfare. I will conclude by reflecting upon how Hobbes's political economy both reveals the internal diversity within the liberal intellectual tradition and can help us to better understand and critique contemporary liberal states and democratic theory.     

A molecular identification system for grasses: a novel technology for forensic botany

Our present inability to rapidly, accurately and cost-effectively identify trace botanical evidence remains the major impediment to the routine application of forensic botany. Grasses are amongst the most likely plant species encountered as forensic trace evidence and have the potential to provide links between crime scenes and individuals or other vital crime scene information. We are designing a molecular DNA-based identification system for grasses consisting of several PCR assays that, like a traditional morphological taxonomic key, provide criteria that progressively identify an unknown grass sample to a given taxonomic rank. In a prior study of DNA sequences across 20 phylogenetically representative grass species, we identified a series of potentially informative indels in the grass mitochondrial genome. In this study we designed and tested five PCR assays spanning these indels and assessed the feasibility of these assays to aid identification of unknown grass samples. We confirmed that for our control set of 20 samples, on which the design of the PCR assays was based, the five primer combinations produced the expected results. Using these PCR assays in a 'blind test', we were able to identify 25 unknown grass samples with some restrictions. Species belonging to genera represented in our control set were all correctly identified to genus with one exception. Similarly, genera belonging to tribes in the control set were correctly identified to the tribal level. Finally, for those samples for which neither the tribal or genus specific PCR assays were designed, we could confidently exclude these samples from belonging to certain tribes and genera. The results confirmed the utility of the PCR assays and the feasibility of developing a robust full-scale usable grass identification system for forensic purposes.     

Government and Democracy in Mexico's Federal District, 1997–2001: Cárdenas, the PRD and the Curate's Egg

This paper analyses the challenges facing the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) administration when it became the first elected government of the Federal District in 1997. Through a daily review of press coverage between December 1997–December 2000, complemented by intensive interviewing during summer 1999, five areas of policy-making activity are analysed and evaluated. The policies entrained and their outcomes show significant advances in decentralization, devolution, and intergovernmental liaison, as well as modest improvements in environmental contamination and reduced crime, although they did not meet the high expectations generated during the Cárdenas campaign for election. However, the fresh image and invigorated confidence that his replacement Rosario Robles brought to the PRD was key in the PRD's success in the July 2nd 2000 DF elections won by López Obrador. The new administration will have to confront a more plural government structure, including five of the sixteen delegaciones and an evenly divided Legislative Assembly. López Obrador has a full six years in which to prove that a left-of-centre political party is capable of developing a 'Third Way' of governance in the DF.