A concise, useful work of public policy.
A cogent argument that “unless economic inequality is reduced, it will be extremely difficult to attain the other goals of sustainable development.”
Chancel, co-director of the World Inequality Lab at the Paris School of Economics, draws on peer-reviewed research to show how continued economic inequality stands in the way of “democratic vitality, social well-being, economic efficiency, and ecological stability.” One of the galling consequences of the current situation is that “the biggest polluters are typically the ones who are least affected by the damages they cause,” and myopic, often selfish political decisions have resulted in the “weakening of the social state and the intensification of financial and trade globalization.” In a clear, balanced voice—particularly impressive in the face of such maddening social conditions—Chancel outlines five areas in which environmental inequality is most visible: access to resources, risk exposure, responsibility for degradation, exposure to the toxic effects of misguided policies, and having a voice when it comes to decisions involving natural resource use. Although the author readily admits that he doesn’t have all the answers and that significant research is ongoing, he does submit a number of policy initiatives that could lead to crucial steps forward, including investment in environmentally impactful infrastructure, taxation based on ecological impact, and public transparency in the measurement and accounting of progress. Chancel also suggests immediate changes in progressive taxation, retooled public services, communal water management, improved public transportation, and ramping up energy efficiency requirements for housing and workspaces. Many of these efforts will require strong citizen participation and a “joint commitment to the common good.” While this may be a tough sell given current societal trends, Chancel is a firm believer in getting priorities straight, and he forcefully argues for the importance of “subordinating commercial objectives to the larger purpose of bringing about a far-reaching and durable ecological and social transition.”
A concise, useful work of public policy.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-674-98465-3
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Belknap/Harvard Univ.
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular...
A neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. “But I couldn’t let go of the question,” he writes, after realizing that his goals “didn’t quite fit in an English department.” “Where did biology, morality, literature and philosophy intersect?” So he decided to set aside his doctoral dissertation and belatedly prepare for medical school, which “would allow me a chance to find answers that are not in books, to find a different sort of sublime, to forge relationships with the suffering, and to keep following the question of what makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay.” The author’s empathy undoubtedly made him an exceptional doctor, and the precision of his prose—as well as the moral purpose underscoring it—suggests that he could have written a good book on any subject he chose. Part of what makes this book so essential is the fact that it was written under a death sentence following the diagnosis that upended his life, just as he was preparing to end his residency and attract offers at the top of his profession. Kalanithi learned he might have 10 years to live or perhaps five. Should he return to neurosurgery (he could and did), or should he write (he also did)? Should he and his wife have a baby? They did, eight months before he died, which was less than two years after the original diagnosis. “The fact of death is unsettling,” he understates. “Yet there is no other way to live.”
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8840-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
PERSPECTIVES
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
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