COVER: "We Are All Socialists Now" (p. 22). Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham and Editor-at-Large Evan Thomas write, "Whether we want to admit it or not, the America of 2009 is moving toward a modern European state." They observe that the America of 2009 was moving toward a European social democracy, even before President Obama proposed the largest fiscal bill in American history. "If we fail to acknowledge the reality of the growing role of government in the economy, insisting instead on fighting 21st-century wars with 20th-century terms and tactics, then we are doomed to a fractious and unedifying debate. The sooner we understand where we truly stand, the sooner we can think more clearly about how to use government in today's world."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183663
(Photo:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090208/NYSU002 )
"Big Government is Back -- Big Time" (p. 24). Europe Editor Michael Freedman reports on the extent to which the United States is turning European. When Obama said that it was time to get past stale arguments over whether government is big or small, he was echoing the eclectic philosophy of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and in endorsing the "Buy American" rules, members of the Obama administration were seconding the old French culture of "economic patriotism." "Until the financial crisis began last year, this kind of business bashing and protectionism was largely relegated to the far left, and it seemed axiomatic in the United States that the business of America was business," Freedman writes. "But with an urgency not seen since Ronald Reagan declared that government was in fact the problem, policymakers are now reconsidering the relationship between government and the private sector."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183664
"Decline? I'll Decline" (p. 28). Senior Editor Daniel Gross writes that the United States' best days aren't necessarily behind us. "Those who fret about an era of slow-growth Socialism presume that our government is incapable of learning from mistakes and crafting intelligent policies. The prospect of an enhanced safety net wasn't incompatible with growth in the 1930s and 1960s, and it isn't now," Gross writes. "And today, state ownership and control of private enterprise is a temporary last resort, not an enduring governing strategy. In Europe's social democracies, CEOs frequently welcomed government involvement because it protected them from competition. By contrast, U.S. managers can't wait to get out from under the government yoke. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have already started talking about how they plan to pay back the bailout money before the end for this year -- so they can pay out humongous bonuses next January."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183667
"The Bailout Isn't a Morality Play" (p. 29). Contributing Editor Robert J. Samuelson writes that we need to move beyond populist denunciations of "bailing out Wall Street." "We should resist turning the debate into a morality play about whether Wall Street and bankers deserve to be rescued. Although beating up on them may be politically and morally satisfying, it's beside the point. If the financial sector isn't revived, the economy will remain depressed," Samuelson writes.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183717
"How Bad Is It, Really?" (p. 30). Zachary Karabell, president of River Twice Research, writes that statistics don't tell the full story when it comes to reported jobless numbers. Statistics say unemployment in January jumped to a 16-year high of 7.6 percent and 1.8 million jobs lost in the last three months, but there are problems with the way the data is assembled. "Collectively, we rely on the unemployment figures and other statistics to frame our sense of reality. They are a vital part of a matrix of data that we use to assess if we're doing well or doing badly, and that in turn shapes government policies and corporate budgets and personal spending decisions," Karabell writes. "The problem is that the statistics aren't an objective measure of reality; they are simply a best approximation created by smart people working for government agencies. Directionally, they capture the trends, but the idea that we know precisely how many are unemployed is a myth. That makes finding a solution all the more difficult."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183558
"Worthwhile Canadian Initiative" (p. 31). Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria writes that there's much we can learn from our quiet neighbor to the north, especially since it is the only country, in the industrialized world that has not faced a single bank failure, calls for bailouts or government intervention in the financial or mortgage sectors. "Canada has done more than survive this financial crisis," Zakaria writes. "The country is positively thriving in it. Canadian banks are well capitalized and poised to take advantage of opportunities that American and European banks cannot seize."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183670
"Why There Won't Be a Revolution" (p. 32). Contributing Editor Jerry Adler writes that Americans might get angry sometimes, but we don't hate the rich, preferring rather to laugh at them. "In America, the country that invented the modern model of wealth -- i.e., derived neither from inherited landholdings nor royal patronage -- mocking the rich is historically one of the most durable cultural memes, matched only by envy of them."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183718
"Our Nuclear Nightmare" (p. 40). Henry A. Kissinger offers a solution to help lower the chances of calamity as nations like Iran and North Korea seek to develop atomic weapons. "Any further spread of nuclear weapons multiplies the possibilities of nuclear confrontation; it magnifies the danger of diversion, deliberate or unauthorized. And if the development of weapons of mass destruction spreads into Iran and continues in North Korea -- in the face of all ongoing negotiations -- the incentives for other countries to follow the same path could become overwhelming."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183673
"Worst Job in the World" (p. 43). During a recent interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told Special Diplomatic Correspondent Lally Weymouth that his country isn't failing, despite a major economic crisis and spreading border insurgency, although international help is needed. "When the oil prices went up and the food commodities also went up, we had problems," Gilani said. "We are a frontline state fighting against terrorism and extremism, and we are paying a heavy price for that ... One suicide-bomb attack creates a flight of capital, and no investment. The world should look after us, and the world should know that we are catering to the needs of 3.5 million Afghan refugees."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183671
"The Draw of 'Dead Town'" (p. 44). National Correspondent Suzanne Smalley and Editor-at-Large Evan Thomas explore the draw of gang life for two recently reformed young men in L.A. "Getting out of a street gang in L.A. is about like getting a tattoo removed: slow, painful, scarring. In street lore, a gang banger can never leave a really brutal gang ... escaping the pull of gang life is extremely difficult," Smalley and Evans write.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183677
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