Dying for a mirage: ­ Yesterday I saw Ellen McLaughlin’s play “Helen,” based on Euripides’ play of the same name…  Just like in real life, the bloodiest wars are fought for things that exist only in men’s minds: “eternal Israel,” “free Palestine,” “jihad,” “Tamil homeland,” “Aryan supremacy,” “the American way of life,” etc. Pretty perceptive, that Euripides. I hope he writes some more. 2002.03.24

The first question is: How much democracy can capitalism tolerate?  We saw the limits in Florida in the last presidential election — when the wrong candidate had the votes, capital found a way to unelect him. …

The other question is: How much capitalism can democracy tolerate?  …  (2002.04.23)