The Korea Herald

[Stephen L. Carter] Great history books of 2016

Last year I inaugurated my list of some of the best history books of the year. With the end of the year upon us, it’s time for a second go-round. Regular readers know that I love history, and that I worry we pay far too little attention to it. So here are 11 of my favorite history books of the year. (I say “favorite” and not “best” because I don’t claim to have read everything. And I’m excluding books by people I know well.) There are my three favorites, and eight more that deserve honorable men

Dec. 29, 2016

[Stephen L. Carter] Great history books of 2016

[J. Bradford DeLong] The age of incompetence

On Jan. 20, 2017, US President-elect Donald Trump will take office having received almost three million fewer votes than his opponent; and he will work with a Republican Senate majority whose members won 13 million fewer votes than their Democratic opponents. Only the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Paul Ryan, has any claim to represent a numerical majority of the 55 percent of Americans who voted on Election Day 2016.Trump will also begin his presidency with

Dec. 29, 2016

[J. Bradford DeLong] The age of incompetence

[Robert B. Reich] Trump‘s dark cloud of illegitimacy

A dark cloud of illegitimacy hangs over the pending presidency of Donald Trump.Bad enough that Trump rejects the conclusions of the CIA, FBI and other US intelligence agencies that Russia intervened in the 2016 campaign to help him become president. Even worse that Trump publicly sides with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue.Last week, Putin claimed that Democrats fabricated the charge of Russian meddling because Democrats “are losing on all fronts and looking elsewhere for things to

Dec. 29, 2016

[Howard Davies] The threat to global banking standards

The financial crisis of 2008 gave a big boost to the global standard-setters. Suddenly, the Basel Committee (which sets the standards for international banking supervision) was leading the financial news. Dinner parties in Manhattan and Kensington were consumed with the finer points of Basel II and the evils of procyclical capital requirements. Governments that had been suspicious of international interference were eager for tougher global rules to prevent banking crises from spilling across bor

Dec. 28, 2016

[Howard Davies] The threat to global banking standards

[Adam Minter] America needs a new moon mission

Fifty years ago, the US had the moon to itself. Starting in 1969, when the first of six Apollo missions touched down, it seemed likely that American astronauts would make a long-term home on the lunar surface. Instead, the US sent its last manned mission there in 1972, and won’t be returning any time soon. That’s a shame: The moon is now a more compelling destination than ever.　Other countries, seeing new scientific and commercial potential there, have started to fill the exploration gap, includ

Dec. 28, 2016

[Noah Smith] The next big climate change battle starts in India

Some climate activists worry that Donald Trump’s presidential election will be the death knell for the global environment. That’s almost certainly untrue. Whatever Trump’s attitude toward climate science and energy policy, two big outside factors will be much more important -- technological progress and policy in developing nations.　First, the good news. Renewable energy technology is already unstoppable. No longer does solar power depend on government subsidies for survival -- it’s increasingly

Dec. 28, 2016

[Kim Ji-hyun] The Art of War

Some ways of practicing humility, as suggested by Mother Theresa, include speaking as little as possible of one’s self, accepting insults and injuries, accepting being slighted, forgotten and disliked, and last but not least, being kind and gentle -- even under provocation. None of these are easy, but in a bizarre way, one of Korea’s most powerful businessmen not only put such behavior into practice, but did it to the extreme.Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and heir apparent t

Dec. 28, 2016

[Faye Flam] If you‘re so smart, why aren’t you rich?

How much is a child’s future success determined by innate intelligence? Economist James Heckman says it’s not what people think. He likes to ask educated non-scientists -- especially politicians and policymakers -- how much of the difference between people’s incomes can be tied to their intelligence quotient. Most guess around 25 percent, even 50 percent, he says. But the data suggest a much smaller influence: about 1 or 2 percent.　So if IQ is only a minor factor in success, what is it that sepa

Dec. 28, 2016

[Kim Seong-kon] The side effects of living in Korea

Recently, a YouTube video caught my eye. In the amusing video titled “Eleven Side Effects I had as a Teacher in South Korea,” an American teacher talks about her experience in Korea with a hint of sarcasm. Some Koreans may view all that she says as compliments. However, some of her points are clearly criticism of the country, while others highlight the cultural differences between the US and Korea. She said that Wi-Fi is available everywhere in Korea, allowing you to connect to the internet anyw

Dec. 27, 2016

[Kim Seong-kon] The side effects of living in Korea

The Pentagon‘s next challenge: Winning Silicon Valley

With a month to go before he assumes responsibility for the US military, President-elect Donald Trump is already demonstrating his aggravation over runaway costs. Recent tweets have targeted the high price of not just Air Force One, a relatively minor project, but also the new F-35 fighter, the largest defense contract in history. He’s also called for a lifetime ban on top military officials going to work for defense contractors.Trump’s complaints have a superficial appeal: Weapons contracts are

Dec. 27, 2016

A 2016 dictionary of dysfunction

A is for “alt-right,” a sanitized, newspeak name for assorted white nationalists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semites and others who are irredeemable. Also, a distressing chunk of Donald Trump’s base.B is for Brexit, or as we now like to call it, “the handwriting on the wall.”C is for classified emails, or what Hillary Clinton insisted there were none of on her home email server, until the FBI discovered that there in fact were.D is for “deplorables,” basket of: Hillary Clinton’s unfortunate description of

Dec. 27, 2016

[Albert R. Hunt] Trump’s win was unusual but not historic

Donald Trump’s aides, understanding their leader, vie to be most ostentatious about calling his victory “historic.”That claim deserves close inspection. Certainly Trump’s rise to the White House was unusual and surprising, even if only because it produced the least politically experienced and probably least qualified president in American history. It could also have lasting consequences: the shape of the Supreme Court, the prospects for war or peace, the shredding of regulations and the social s

Dec. 27, 2016

[Lee Jae-min] Just one winter away

The central government and local governments closely coordinate. Private and public sectors pool their talent and resources. Donations and contributions pile up. National enthusiasm mounts. Children countdown to the opening ceremony. Small and large festivities are held nationwide.These are what can be expected at this point with regards to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. Unfortunately, the reality has not yet met expectations. With the opening ceremony set to tak

Dec. 27, 2016

Bipartisan investigation needed

When the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a former Republican nominee for president, says that congress needs a special select committee to investigate Russian influence on the last election -- and the chamber’s top democrat agrees with him -- then the only question ought to be when, where and who gets to serve on it.Yet Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other top Republicans continue to resist what ought to be a no-brainer under these extraordinary circumstances. It’s b

Dec. 26, 2016

[Doyle McManus] Why we should normalize Trump

President-elect Donald Trump is being normalized before our eyes. On Monday, the Electoral College cast its votes in the customary way; despite pleas and demonstrations, only two Republican electors rebelled. Soon, Trump will have an entire cabinet list ready for nomination, just like an ordinary president. And on Jan. 20, less than a month from now, he’ll take the oath of office and give an inaugural address, with President and Mrs. Obama looking on in support (if not exactly approval).Just lik

Dec. 26, 2016

[Jeffrey Frankel] Demonetization on five continents

Around the world, several countries are currently undergoing demonetization, or currency reforms in which the government removes banknotes of a certain denomination from circulation and replaces them with new notes. Governments pursue demonetization for a variety of reasons, and some of the recent initiatives are going better than others.When demonetization is particularly dramatic and disruptive, it is often a signpost on the road to hyperinflation. This seems to be the case in Venezuela, where

Dec. 26, 2016

[Jeffrey Frankel] Demonetization on five continents

[Jay Ambrose] Get ready for a two-president nation

Barack Obama first came to national attention as a conciliator. It was 2004 at the Democratic National Convention and the Illinois state senator made a resounding, eloquent speech calling for national unity. Five years later, at his inauguration as president of the United States, he made another resounding, eloquent speech, this time calling for national division.Or at least provoking it. Dr. Jekyll was gone, Mr. Hyde was on hand and the healing physician has since been hard to spot as Obama has

Dec. 26, 2016

[David Ignatius] Gates offers words of wisdom for Trump presidency

Bob Gates has worked in senior national security positions for the last five presidents, Republican and democratic. So it’s noteworthy -- and to me, encouraging -- that he is advising President-elect Donald Trump, too.Gates, a former defense secretary, CIA director and deputy national security adviser, spoke with me by telephone Wednesday about the advice he’s giving Trump and his team -- and the opportunities and pitfalls ahead. At the top of Gates’ to-do list is striking the right balance betw

Dec. 26, 2016

[David Ignatius] Gates offers words of wisdom for Trump presidency

[Hugo Drochon] Does the French Socialist primary matter?

Seven candidates are standing in the 2017 French Socialist Party presidential primary, which includes the Socialist Party and a number of smaller pro-government Green parties, formally known as the “Popular Alliance.” But one can be forgiven for not recognizing many of them. And three recognizable names will not be on the ballot this January: Francois Hollande, Emmanuel Macron and Jean-Luc Melenchon.Hollande is only the second president since the birth of the Fifth Republic in 1958 not to seek a

Dec. 25, 2016

[Hugo Drochon] Does the French Socialist primary matter?

[Tyler Cowen] How China beats the US on clean air

As Beijing and more than 20 other cities in northern China have been plunged into another winter air pollution crisis, with choking, toxic air and many people afraid to wander outside, observers wonder when China will start making significant progress on this problem. But there is some good news, namely that when it comes to clean air improvements, China probably is ahead of the historic pace of the US at a comparable stage of economic development.To be sure, China faces serious pollution proble

Dec. 25, 2016

[Tyler Cowen] How China beats the US on clean air