Fate of the West
Where Western civilization is headed. History, demography, culture and power, with serious attention to both decline and renewal.
About this list
This reading list brings together items from the sources selected for Fate of the West. Open each item at its original source for the complete article, episode or video. This is a selection of current coverage, not a complete archive.
Latest stories
Newest first
Climate Policies Can Bring Relief on Affordability and Beyond
As the US midterm elections approach, one word keeps coming up in campaign promises and headlines: “affordability.” That working people in the United States are struggling to afford basic necessities is a problem that many are willing to acknowledge, but there is very little agreement on what should be done to tackle a core driver of the affordability crisis: climate change.
Why We’re Banning AI
Iam proud to say that as part of our new union contract, Current Affairs recently adopted one of the strictest anti-AI policies in the publishing industry. No text that is AI-generated may be published in our magazine. No AI-generated art may be used as a Current Affairs illustration. When you read Current Affairs, you are going to be reading the thoughts of a human, and seeing the results of human artistry.
So Far, the 119th Congress Is Among the Least Productive of the Past 40 Years
The 119th Congress has enacted 121 laws so far, the second fewest of any Congress in the past four decades.
Tough Love: My Ex-Wife Turned My Brothers Against Me
‘It wouldn’t be fair to say my brothers are spineless. Perhaps they are wise,’ writes a 47-year-old divorcé. ‘Wise enough to accept their wives’ position, which is that I’m the bad guy.’ Our advice columnist, Abigail Shrier, weighs in.
Historian Eric Hobsbawm Was a “Communist Polymath”
Emile Chabal, author of a new biography of the massively popular and influential historian Eric Hobsbawm, explains how Hobsbawm’s Central European roots set him apart in Britain — and why he kept faith with communism through the devastation of his century.
How Bernie’s Campaigns Reorganized the Organized Left
Ten years ago, while socialist Bernie Sanders was making his historic run for the Democratic presidential nomination that drew millions of supporters and promised a “political revolution” to live long past his campaign, I was part of a small revolutionary organization that pooh-poohed him as a faux renegade.
What We Can Save In A Time Of Endings
During the slow disintegrations of the climate crisis, choices about what to preserve become politically and culturally fraught.
Is Blockbuster Video the Answer to Our Digital Privacy Woes?
The Supreme Court is weighing whether a 1988 video-store law can be used to protect our digital privacy.
The Saudi Phase of the Iran War Signals More Chaos to Come
The conflict that Donald Trump has repeatedly proclaimed an unequivocal American victory keeps spiraling out of control.
Britain’s Military-Industrial Complex Is Promoting War Fever
War fever has gripped the European political establishment. War in Ukraine and rumors of continent-wide conflict with Russia are now the staple justification for rearmament, ballooning arms budgets, and the reintroduction of conscription across Europe.
Pinocchio
And blood.
The Foucault Century
Michel Foucault, by some counts the world’s most cited author, was born a hundred years ago today. Though he died forty-two years ago, the controversial philosopher’s image remains remarkably cutting-edge. Foucault’s signature concepts—power/knowledge, panopticism, biopower—still sound deliciously subversive. Though he died too soon to be drawn into our never-ending culture wars, he continues to be associated—negatively or positively—with queer theory, the critique of the gender binary, prison abolition, and postcolonialism.
Construction’s Data Center Boom
Plus: Ukraine says Starlink is partly back after an outage, inflation hits 3.7 percent ahead of the midterms, and a huge dachshund.
Why Conservatives Should Root for Taylor Swift
by Joshua L. Sohn Taylor Swift is married—perhaps you’ve heard? She’s always been a mirror for others to project their hopes and visions, and her latest era is no different. As a country music ingenue in her early years, she was sometimes assumed to be conservative. As a New York-based pop star in the mid-2010’s, she was lionized as a paragon of girlboss liberalism.
Has Sally Rooney Been Censored? Plus
Anthony Scaramucci’s advice for Trump’s new press secretary. Why modern dating is rigged against ordinary men. The shocking scale of the debanking scandal. And more.
Civic Education and Classical Liberalism
How have classical liberals approached civic education and the role of the state in promoting it?
Progressive Buyer’s Remorse
The left is rediscovering century-old arguments for crippling the Supreme Court.
These Working-Class Populists Are Struggling to Win Over the Working Class
And more insights from the second edition of our Economic Populist Tracker.
How Congress Is Cashing In on the AI Boom
Roughly one in five members of Congress has household investments in the industry.
Who Was Emily Brontë?
A new biography tries to reconstruct her everyday life.
Showing 20 of 200 articles
Know a source we’re missing? Tell us about it