David Brooks's Blog, page 91

The Brutality Cascade

In some competitions, the most brutal player gets to set the rules.

The Learning Virtues

A book on education cultures finds that the Chinese tend to define learning morally while Westerns define it cognitively.

Will Journalism Go the Way of Whaling?

Brooks and Collins ask how much new media mangle the message.

Our Second Adolescence

We need a president ready to shift the terms of the debate around big-versus-small government and nurture future investment in�creative and�courageous �ways.

The D.C. Dubstep

Politicians in both parties are dancing as though they’re secretly in love with sequestration, a total disaster for the country.

What Data Can’t Do

Data can’t account for everything in our experience, nor serve as the only guide for our thinking, planning and decision-making.

When Families Fail

President Obama’s new prekindergarten initiative focuses on reform, as it should.

Giving Congress Information

Brooks and Collins dissect the State of the Union address and discuss how it made John Boehner feel.

Carpe Diem Nation

Here’s hoping President Obama will frame his State of the Union address in terms of the present vs. the future.

Florence and the Drones

As we debate the ethics of using drones, it might be surprisingly useful to take a page out of Machiavelli’s tough-minded view of human nature.