Volume Two, Number Six

CONTENTS

From the Editor

Editor-in-Chief Nick Schulz introduces the latest issue of THE AMERICAN.

The American Scene

His and her happiness, giving Grant his due, the global middle-class boom, and more.

The Young Economist

Edward Miguel of Berkeley takes aim at economic gangsters.
BY ANTHONY DICK

DataPoints

Americans take stock of Wall Street.
COMPILED BY KARLYN BOWMAN 

The Interview

James Tisch of the Loews Corporation on why he sleeps well at night.

Q&A

Can global warming be stopped? Ask a geoengineer.
BY SAMUEL THERNSTROM

Geopolitics

Democracy is coming to the Middle East whether we want it or not.
BY REUEL MARC GERECHT

Techno-Ideas

Regulating the Web would be a net loss.
BY ROBERT HAHN

Automobility

Gasoline is still king, and long may it reign.
BY RALPH KINNEY BENNETT

American Civilization

Rediscovering a signature American homily.
BY ROBERT MCHENRY 

American Seen

English artist Damien Hirst sells out while Wall Street sells off.
BY DANIEL AKST

FEATURES

Academic Sleuthing

Data detectives are making financial markets safer and better for investors.
BY THOMAS J. HEALEY & MATTHEW A. SCOGIN

Running on Empty Promises

Today’s talk of a quick transition away from fossil fuels will prove to be blowing in the wind.
BY VACLAV SMIL

Charlotte’s Business Web

As the dust settles on Wall Street, this Tar Heel town’s best days are ahead.
BY CHIP JONES

Sundown for California?

The Golden State may be entering its golden years.
BY JOEL KOTKIN

Our Venturesome Economy

America is a great place to invent, thanks to her risk-taking consumers.
BY AMAR BHIDÉ

Branded for Good

The benefits of modern marketing and advertising are little understood and rarely appreciated.
BY JOHN E. QUELCH & KATHERINE E. JOCZ

21st-Century Sultanate

How Vladimir Putin built Russia’s corporatist state.
BY LEON ARON

The Nonstarters

Are we encouraging the creation of too many low-productivity businesses?
BY SCOTT SHANE

Medicine’s Miracle Man

Maurice Hilleman saved more lives than any other man. Ever heard of him?
BY JOHN E. CALFEE

Cheating 2.0

Technology is catching cheats on college campuses. Students don’t like it.
BY CHARLES EUCHNER