Age spots: Gender sensitivity and the Hutchins Commission

The language of the Hutchins Commission report, A Free and Responsible Press, written in 1947, is sexist. The language flaws the report, but certainly does not destroy its value. Language must be separated from content, such as in Plato's and Kant's writings. Although the Hutchins Commission uses unfortunate language, its message goes beyond mere toleration to a supererogatory duty: The ideal of the marketplace of ideas shall be made concrete. Just as Plato's vision of women ruling in equal numbers has yet to become reality and just as Kant's ethical vision of every human's liberation from mistreatment has yet to be realized, the Hutchins Commission's call for a chorus of voices remains unfilled. The call has been echoed and in some case intensified, such as in Carol Gilligan's work on the voices of women. But the goals remain undiminished beacons that remind us—educators as well as the media—that we still have much work ahead in order to achieve inclusiveness.     

Public advocacy and the regulatory climate

A State's regulatory climate is an important determinant of utility capital costs and construction expenditures. This paper demonstrates the relationship of public (both proxy and qrassroots) advocacy movements with state regulatory climate and the cost of electricity. The perceived indifference of the utility industry and the regulatory process to public advocacy movements may be exploited by politicians seeking public office on an anti-utility platform. The result can be the weakening of the industry's long-run ability to produce a reliable power supply.