Eric Sanderson, author of the new book Terra Nova as well as Mannahatta, has a nice blog post about the many meanings of the word “Resilience.” Eric had these deep thoughts while on a panel I organized at the Eastern Economic Association convention a week ago. It was a great panel, and my thanks to Barry Lynn of the New America Foundation and to Jason Barr of Rutgers, who also participated. You can see Eric’s blog post on Resilience here.

It shows you how media saturated New York City is that I end up featured in this front-page article in the Wall Street Journal about old people who are carded when they buy alcohol. Okay not “old,” but clearly over 21. I’m happy because the author mentioned my new book, The Surprising Design of Market Economies. The mention came about because I was buying a beer while at a game of the Brooklyn Nets at the new stadium, and the reporter Barry Newman asked to interview me. Being a former reporter myself, I was happy to oblige and tried to be pithy.

Richard Bennett, a Senior Fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, has written a lengthy response to my column advocating public fiber optic networks. As I say in my response to his response, he addresses an argument I did not make, and fails to address arguments I did. You can see his and my responses here. The larger question I have is who is this ITIF? Its website gives no information on its funding, that I could find.

What the hell are the Commons and do we still have them? Yes, and overall, we have a lot more of them, despite the recent wave of privatizations over the last few decades. I’m talking though the long view. Read about it here in this nifty online magazine On The Commons.

Here’s a new Governing column of mine I think particularly important. It concerns who will control what is becoming the crucial infrastructure of the present and future, the fiber optic lines.

As I say in the column, there are parallels to the long and extensive battles that took place 50 to 100 years ago in and around electricity service. I wouldn’t be surprised if most Americans are ignorant of this. I certainly was. Turn onto it the actions that await, to our mutual benefit.

My old teacher Anthony Lewis died this week, and a melancholy descended on me, along with a sense of gratitude for my luck in experiencing his intelligence and insight directly.

I first experienced him personally in Columbia Journalism School in 1988. He taught the required 1^st Amendment law course with Vincent Blasi, a noted attorney on the subject. Every Friday, I think it was, we would trudge over to the Law school and get to sit in one of the amphitheater shaped classrooms while Lewis and Blasi taught us through the Socratic method. Based on assigned readings of cases, the two would take us through a series of questions that would lead us to the heart of the case’s importance and central issues. It was my first experience with the Socratic method, and I loved it. I was an avid participant, despite not having always read the cases thoroughly. At the end of the year, I mailed Lewis a letter expressing my appreciation.

Donald Luzzatto, the editorial page editor of The Virginian-Pilot, had a really nice column about both me and my new book, The Surprising Design of Market Economies. A really nice summary of the book and of me, and he drew links between economic and religious thinking that was stimulating. Check out the column here. The Virginian-Pilot is my hometown newspaper and where I worked as a reporter for a decade.

Julia Vitullo-Martin, in the newsletter I edit, had a great piece about cities that take big approaches to the business of food, making themselves even more into food cities. London, Portland and others have done this. Should New York? Check it outhere, in Spotlight on the Region of the Regional Plan Association. 

The piece dovetailed with an excellent piece this morning by New York Times’ Mark Bittman about establishing a new City Market, ala Pike Place or Barcelona’s covered market, down on Fulton Street. This is such a great idea. I would sacrifice much to see this happen.

all corporations are not cities. What’s this all about? Read here, in this column of mine on the subject in Citiwire. This draws from my new book, The Surprising Design of Market Economies