Navigator, November, 2004

Editor's Desk

In This Issue

Letters

Feature Article:

Demonize-Then Pulverize by Sam Kazman
Ten years ago, a new type of lawsuit was filed against the tobacco industry. It began by making the industry into a national pariah and then demanding huge payments in compensation for the expenses it had supposedly thrust upon the U.S. states. That pattern is quickly becoming the model for many other lawsuits.

Ideas and Issues:

The States of Freedom by Roger Donway
Last month, Navigator reported on freedom around the world. Now, two reports have surfaced evaluating the economic freedom of U.S. states. Unsuprisingly, their different methodologies produce different winners and losers.

Superhero Me! by David Kelley
Who could have imagined that an animated film would finally put egalitarians on the defensive? Yet that is the achievement of Pixar Studios' new hit, The Incredibles, the story of a family of superheroes who struggle against the reign of mediocrity.

Cultural Calendar

Whom Should We Thank? by Roger Donway
If Thanksgiving is a harvest festival, then it can also be seen as a celebration of producers. But how shall we understand the name of the celebration? Which producers should we thank?

Soundings

Suggested Readings on Government and Business

Logbook and Sightings