The Splintering of the G‐20

The solidarity of the G‐20 nations in staving off global financial crisis two years ago has deteriorated into a brawl over currency valuations, trade imbalances and sovereign debt, reflecting the great powershift from the West to the East and the emerging economies. In this section, we invited comments from historians, a former head of state who successfully navigated the Asian financial crisis and a prominent Chinese dissident.     

Where the G‐20 Stands

The G‐20 supplanted the G‐8 as the executive committee of globalization as the emerging and advanced economies came together in the wake of the Wall Street crash to stave off depression. Now, each country is going its own way. In this section we examine whether the G‐20 can be saved, and what the countries within it must do to bring the global economy into balance.     

It Is a G‐Zero,Not a G‐20, World

The G‐20 supplanted the G‐8 as the executive committee of globalization as the emerging and advanced economies came together in the wake of the Wall Street crash to stave off depression. Now, each country is going its own way. In this section we examine whether the G‐20 can be saved, and what the countries within it must do to bring the global economy into balance.     

Mini‐lateralism Will Get Us Nowhere

The further we get from the crisis moment of the global financial meltdown in 2008–2009, the weaker the momentum to establish an effective system of global governance. Gordon Brown, the former prime minister of Great Britain who hosted the most successful G‐20 conclave in London at the apex of the crisis, laments the complacency that has taken over. With the scandalous departure of Dominique Strauss‐Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund, a global debate has opened up over whether the emerging economies should have a greater voice in that institution. Nobel laureate Michael Spence comments.     

The International Community Must Intervene—in Japan

Months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the real truth hidden by incompetence and dissembling by Japanese authorities has emerged: Three of the four nuclear power plants at Fukushima suffered a meltdown. Japan's leading anti‐nuclear crusader and two French public figures worried about the impact on the future of nuclear technology respond.     

The “End of History” 20 Years Later

Going through a protracted period of transition since the end of the Cold War, the world order in the making is neither what was nor what it is yet to become. It is in “the middle of the future.” To get our bearings in this uncertain transition, we explore the two grand post‐Cold War narratives—“The End of History” as posited by Francis Fukuyama and “The Clash of Civilizations” posited by the late Samuel Huntington. Mikhail Gorbachev looks back at his policies that brought the old order to collapse. The British philosopher John Gray critiques the supposed “universality” of liberalism and, with Homi Bhabha, sees a world of hybrid identities and localized cultures. The Singaporean theorist Kishore Mahbubani peels away the “veneer” of Western dominance. Amartya Sen, the economist and Nobel laureate, assesses whether democratic India or autocratic China is better at building “human capacity” in their societies.     

The Trickle‐Down Olympics

Will China's authoritarian leaders succeed in building a future by erasing the past? Can the ideology of “nationalist consumerism” obliterate memory altogether? Will the Olympic applause drown out the weak and exiled witnesses of the Tiananmen crackdown? In this section we listen to a key Tiananmen student leader two decades on as well as check in with today's young elites in Beijing. A political leader from the reformist regime in 1989 calls for justice from house arrest and a young Chinese novelist wonders what kind of identity is possible without memory.     

The Saudi Counter‐Revolution I

Just as the Arab Spring blossomed, the al‐Qaeda‐led era of terrorism came to an end with the killing of Osama Bin Laden in his Pakistani lair by American special forces. We asked two of the most contentious experts on all things Islamic—Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Tariq Ramadan—to assess the meaning of these historic moments on the future. Amr Moussa, the leading candidate for Egypt's presidency, and Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, also offer their views. Two top former intelligence agents from MI6 and the CIA look at the next turn of events—the Saudi counter‐revolution.     

The Saudi Counter‐Revolution II

Just as the Arab Spring blossomed, the al‐Qaeda‐led era of terrorism came to an end with the killing of Osama Bin Laden in his Pakistani lair by American special forces. We asked two of the most contentious experts on all things Islamic—Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Tariq Ramadan—to assess the meaning of these historic moments on the future. Amr Moussa, the leading candidate for Egypt's presidency, and Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, also offer their views. Two top former intelligence agents from MI6 and the CIA look at the next turn of events—the Saudi counter‐revolution.     

马克思主义:西方与东方--20世纪马克思主义的演变及其21世纪的前景

20世纪马克思主义在东西方走上了不同的发展道路.东西方马克思主义在这一百年中产生了五次重大分歧,基本格局是东方的制度社会主义成为马克思主义发展的主流和中心.二者的百年争论集中在市场与民主两大主题上,分歧的根源在于双方历史阶段和文化背景的差异以及对马克思主义基本理论和20世纪实践关系的不同看法.马克思主义的两股潮流将在21世纪反对全球资本主义的斗争中重新合流,走向马克思主义发展的新阶段.