Book Review

Book Review The Anarchy The Relentless Rise of the East India Company Reviewed by: Maya Jasanoff About a century ago, a series of giant murals was unveiled in the Palace of Westminster depicting the “Building of Britain”, which bounded in eight set-pieces from King Alfred’s long-ships beating back the Danes in 877 to bewigged parliamentarians presenting Queen Anne with the ... Read More »

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged A novel of ideas In his tweet dated 7th of July 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan shared the words of a renowned Russian-American writer, Ayn Rand, which, in his view, aptly describe the state in which the national economy was when he took over the reins of the country. In his post, the premier said, “This ... Read More »

Education in FY 2018-19 The literacy rate increased by 1.6pc to 62.3pc in 2017-18, from 60.7pc in 2014-15, according to the Economic Survey of Pakistan launched on Monday. The survey stated: “Pakistan social and living standards measurement (PSLM) survey could not be conducted in 2016-17 and 2017-18 on account of ‘Population & Housing Census in 2017’. However, according to Labour ... Read More »

‘Searching For the Enemy’ The startling revelation that the Taliban’s founder Amir and its supremo, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had lived and died in Afghanistan’s Zabul province – not in Pakistan as international media has relentlessly propagated – has created many ambiguities, and has also put a big question mark against the performance of many international agencies focusing on Afghanistan during ... Read More »

How the Technology Behind Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Is Changing the World Proposed in 2008 and launched the following year, bitcoin – a “peer-to-peer electronic cash system” – was initially viewed by many as the preserve of geeks and criminals. Yet it has subsequently taken giant strides towards the mainstream. There have been various high-profile attempts to unmask the “real” ... Read More »

Pakistan’s main issue has been its crisis of governance as manifested by a weak institutional framework. In nearly seventy-one years of its existence, Pakistan has been ruled by four Governors-General, twelve presidents (including four military dictators) and thirty prime ministers (including caretaker prime ministers entrusted with the job of holding elections). It has witnessed thirty-two years of military dictatorship and ... Read More »

Want to understand power? Forget Machiavelli! For too long, argues Dacher Keltner, author of “The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence,” we have accepted unquestioningly the version of power made famous by that sixteenth century author. To Niccolo Machiavelli, Keltner explains, power is “about force, fraud, ruthlessness and strategic violence.” To Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology and Director ... Read More »

“The Culture of Power and Governance of Pakistan 1947–2008” by Ilhan Niaz makes a strong case for the quotation, “the one who does not remember history is bound to live through it”. In the book, the author has tried to trace the current culture of power and governance in Pakistan through the rich history of the Subcontinent. He has asked ... Read More »

Everybody believes (or claims to believe) in the rule of law, but how many people could tell you what it means? Although Tom Bingham, a retired senior law lord, has spent his life in its service, even he does not find defining it that easy. But his short book is a remarkable essay on the subject, stooping from panoptic heights ... Read More »

Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) will probably be the most important agent of change in the 21st century. It will transform our economy, our culture, our politics and even our own bodies and minds in ways most people can hardly imagine. If you hear a scenario about the world in 2050 and it sounds ... Read More »