The banking system we take for granted is unfixable. The good news is that we no longer need to rely on any private, rent-seeking, socially destabilizing network of banks, at least not the way we have so far.
shows why the current private system is unfixable – and why we don’t need to tolerate it anymore.
Like Vladimir Putin, China's leader is so steeped in a narrative of victimhood and fearful of appearing weak that it is hard to imagine him ever leading China out of the mess he has created. He could well be remembered as the leader who squandered history's most remarkable economic success story.
about the country's increasingly worrisome trajectory, both at home and abroad.
Artificial IdiocyFrank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images
十多年来,意大利一直为两极政治制度所统治。选民可在左翼联盟与右翼联盟之间进行选择。那些对现任政府不满的人可投票支持反对党。并且这种替代选择的存在对政客们具有约束作用:西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼政府能够度过其整个选举任期绝非偶然。
这与意大利的政治传统形成鲜明的对比。在整个战后时期,直到二十世纪九十年代初,意大利历届政府平均任期不到一年。选民们无法在现任政府与反对党之间进行选择,因为一直都是同样的中间派执政。政府危机仅仅是改组重要内阁职位或改变总理政党派系的一个机会。
然而,现在存在极大的风险,意大利政治家们要重拾其传统惯例。想到竞选运动期间罗马诺·普罗迪与西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼之间的敌对态度,这种现象似乎有些奇怪。但是,那种敌对态度反映了贝卢斯科尼所实现的政治个人化,以及他废除的体制特征。他执政期间的最后一项行动是用按比例统治替代了1993年引进的多数主义选举制度。这种新的选举制度改变了政客们的激励机制,并且可能导致重新回到联盟之间轮换和政府不稳定状态。如果贝卢斯科尼本人在接下来的选举期内远离政治(这是有可能的),这一后果将会更加严重。
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