Jeffrey Sommers — This Is How the New Cold War Turns Hot

American journalists keep saying Alexander Dugin is Putin’s ideological adviser. One problem: He’s not.

More inflammatory fake news about Russia from the lame stream media, specifically New York Times columnist David Brooks.

The Nation

This Is How the New Cold War Turns Hot 

Jeffrey Sommers | Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Senior Fellow at their Institute of World Affairs. He is also Visiting Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga

Dean Baker — David Brooks Is Making History

Read David Brooks is rewriting history, or David Brooks doesn't know what he is talking about.

Actually, it is pretty funny pitting Rubio against Summers. Summers would chew him up in a debate, along with David Brooks for good measure. Not that I think Summers is that great, but at least he is "smart."

CEPR
David Brooks Is Making History
Dean Baker

Matt Bruenig — Social Distance and Inequality

David Brooks argued that class prejudice was resurgent in a piece in the New York Times on Monday. The piece was a bit scattered in its presentation, but the main point is that social distance between economic classes is causing prejudice and stereotypes to flourish, and that only an increase in social mobility will solve this problem. I think this is incorrect and that reducing inequality is the only plausible way to solve this problem….

Demos Policy Shop
Social Distance and Inequality

Matt Bruenig

David Ruccio — You want Marxism?

Since I started this blog, I’ve read a lot of economic analysis and political commentary, much of it inane....

But you have to draw the line somewhere and, years back, I drew it at David Brooks. Talk about inane!

And then a friend comes along and sends me something I should take a look at. And so I did. It’s a review by David Brooks [ht: bn] of George Packer’s latest, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.

Thanks to Brooks, I’m actually going to go out and purchase Packer’s book. However, the review is interesting for a very different reason: Brooks actually waxes nostalgic for Marxism.

OCCASIONAL LINKS & COMMENTARYon economics, culture and society

You want Marxism?
David Ruccio | Professor of Economics, University of Notre Dame