The Politics of the Good Samaritan

Abstract

Liberals usually misconstrue the recent political movements, worldwide, that have been motivated by fundamentalist religious ideologies. We often dismiss the representatives of these movements both morally and intellectually as fanatic, benighted anachronisms that cling to medieval absolutes. We would be better served, however, if we regard these movements and their representatives in the light of Reinhold Niebuhr's psychology of sin. The purpose of such a construal would not be the cheap, ironical pleasure of accusing fundamentalists of sin, but to provide a more nuanced grasp of their beliefs and behavior, and to open a more promising avenue in our attempts to defuse the furor and mitigate the damage caused by their movements on the national and international stage.     

The Four Good Dissenters in Pollock

The overall theme of this lecture series is great dissenters. This contribution to the series is on the dissenters in the 1895 case of Pollock v. Farmers' Trust & Loan Co. In Pollock, the Supreme Court decided, by a vote of 5–4, that the 1894 federal income tax was unconstitutional. The four dissenters—Justice Henry Brown of Michigan, Justice John Marshall Harlan of Kentucky, Justice Howell Jackson of Tennessee, and future Chief Justice Edward D. White—would have upheld the tax.     

让人民居住得有尊严——留名世界遗产名录的柏林现代主义公共住宅区

"建筑不仅是与社会最密切相关的艺术,而且它的实现本身就是一个社会结晶。在这一意义上,它是一门完完全全的集体艺术。"——布鲁诺·陶特生活空间是都市化永恒常存的主题。大城市的房价、租金在拥迫的空间压力之下飙升到了令人瞠目咋舌的水平,"蜗居"现象似乎变成了城市发展的常态。然而欧洲     

The First Herders at the Cape of Good Hope

It is generally accepted that the earliest livestock and pottery were brought to the southern tip of Africa by Khoi-speaking herders from northern Botswana around 2000 years ago. The archaeological remains of that age, however, show no sign of such a migration. Rather, some evidence points to the arrival of the Khoi in the southwestern Cape toward the end of the first millennium AD. The earliest livestock and pottery, it is argued, probably reached the Cape of Good Hope some 2000 years ago by a process of diffusion. The implications of this model for the current debates on the transition from hunting to herding in southern Africa are discussed.     

The Common Good,Pluralism and the Small Church

Abstract

This paper discusses the understanding of “Common Good” that has been used by the Church of England, especially over the last five years. It suggests that its implicit universalism and identification of Christian morality with the ethical norms for the nation is premised on an understanding of the role of the Church which is no longer realistic. After a brief discussion of the latest statistics for church attendance and a comparison with other national churches in Northern Europe, I suggest that the Church of England is a “small church” and even that Christians constitute a religious minority. This means that the pursuit of the “Common Good” as defined by the church may simply be a piece of nostalgic longing for the time of the “big church.” The recent exclusions for the churches on same-sex marriage legislation indicate that the gap between most of the churches and the wider society. Rather than defining the common good, I suggest that in a pluralist society the churches which recognize their limited role will need to build alliances and common causes with other groups, both religious and secular.     

藏乡人的好女儿--记青海省乐都县中坝藏族乡乡长桑吉卓玛

地处乐都县下南山深处的中坝藏族乡有一位年轻的藏族女乡长桑吉卓玛。两年多来,这位曾在乐都下北山地区中岭乡任副乡长6年之久的藏家女儿,用她艰苦朴素的工作作风,务真求实的工作态度,团结向上的民族精神和开拓进取,知难而进的敬业精神,同乡党委、乡政府一班人带领全乡8000多口人,紧紧围绕经济建设这个中心,狠抓脱贫致富大业,使全乡呈现出经济发展,社会稳定,民族团结的可喜局面。全乡人均纯收入由2001年的1006元增加到2003年1320元,被全乡藏汉各族群众称之为“藏乡人的好女儿”。中坝藏族乡是一个山大沟深,交通不便,群众生产生活十分落后的…     

新年好心情

杭州西湖的“申遗”,将这个“自然和文化高度复合的产物”,又一次推到了万众瞩目的聚光灯下。这次西湖申报世界遗产的类别是“文化景观遗产”。西湖的无与伦比正是她2000年发展过程中形成的文化深度,“申遗”的“破发点”就在于让世界读懂西湖与中国文学和哲学绵延不息的文脉。本期推出西湖专辑,聚焦西湖“申遗”,“西湖24小时”里的人们装点着这片中国最著名的湖山风景,演绎这处“活着的文化形态”别样的风韵。     

旅行是良药

<正>假日旅行并非只有狂欢和疲惫,在度假中,做一些有利健康的事也未尝不可。预定一次对你的健康和幸福影响持久的旅行吧,也许是在负海拔的死海里惬意漂浮,或是在清迈的养生中心做一次净化身心的排毒项目,都不失为既修身养性又放松自我的度假方式。"旅行疗法"归来,再看看镜子中的你,可能你也会感到一种重获新生般的惊喜。终日为生活忙碌,困在格子间的你,是否已忘记关照自己的身体和心情?药物治疗,这个向来被认为是所有疾病的灵丹妙药的方案,也许对你目前的状况并不适用,何不尝试一次旅行疗健康生活,离开格子间去旅行吧