The Roundup Top Ten for December 3, 2021
What RBG Got Wrong about the Abortion Debate and the Courtsby Felicia KornbluhRuth Bader Ginsburg stated that the Roe v. Wade decision inflamed abortion politics by preventing the states from legislating on the issue. The history of abortion legislation doesn't suggest that it would have, or will ever, create consensus. |
Wednesday's Arguments Signal the End of Roeby Mary Ziegler"Today’s oral argument signaled that the Court is poised to reverse Roe outright when it decides Dobbs, probably sometime in June or early July," says a leading legal historian of abortion rights. |
In Praise of One-Size-Fits-All Social Policyby Lawrence B. Glickman"To call a vaccine mandate a constraint on an “intensely personal decision” is to obfuscate the fundamental reality that pandemics are intensely social." |
Humans Are Doomed to Extinctionby Henry GeeFrom the perspective of a natural historian, humanity has had a good run, but "I suspect that the human population is set not just for shrinkage but collapse—and soon." |
In Zemmour, France's Old Bigotry Finds New Voiceby Mitchell Abidor and Miguel LagoPresidential candidate Éric Zemmour's Jewishness should not be a shield for his manipulation of France's historical bigotries for political gain. |
Is the Anti-Pope Francis Rad-Trad Catholic Movement Headed to QAnon Territory?by Joshua P. Hevert and Thomas Lecaque"While the Middle Ages may feel very distant, the amping up of apocalyptic rhetoric in a struggle over the papacy and the direction of the church is very current." |
A Woman Enslaved by a Founder Sought Freedom in Parisby Martha S. Jones"Paris has no true monument to Abigail, no place that calls to mind an American slave who died there at the advent of American freedom." |
The Conservative War on Education that Failedby Adam Laats"A full century ago, the most effective school-ban campaign in American history set the pattern: noise, fury, rancor, and fear, but not much change in what schools actually teach." |
Can Cold War History Help Stop a Disastrous US-China Conflict?by Li Chen and Odd Arne WestadThe emerging superpower rivalry between the US and China is not exactly like the Cold War, and simplistic historical analogies are a poor strategic guide. But Cold War history does offer examples of potential pitfalls. |
After 20 Years, Enron Still Haunts Usby Gavin BenkeDespite Enron's bankruptcy and the resulting economic fallout, American business media is still dangerously credulous toward promises of "innovation" and "disruption" without asking whether the latest hot entrepreneur is using smoke and mirrors. |