Day

June 17, 2021

Magnanimous Statecraft

“Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom,” Edmund Burke observed. At the turn of the twentieth century, both France and Germany were wooing Great Britain as an ally against the other. Why was it France, Britain’s nemesis for centuries, which succeeded in gaining British friendship? The answer is complex, but a large part...

Letters to the Editors—Legal Tender: El Salvador Bets on Bitcoin

As the Dispatch recognizes, much of the discussion of cryptocurrencies is obscured by the fact that people do not understand what they are. Monetary theory tells us that currency – fiat, crypto, or otherwise – must perform as three functions: medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account. As speculative assets, cryptocurrencies fall...

Biden-Putin Summit: Showdown, or Just for Show?

On the heels of a European tour intended to galvanize traditional American rivals for an era of great power competition, President Joe Biden yesterday arrived in Geneva – “the city of peace” – for a much-anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. News conferences for both leaders followed the formal meeting — the contents of...