Source: Independent Institute
by Alexander William Salter

“There is a tension at the heart of political economy. Is it the science of statesmanship, by which rulers manage taxation, commerce, public finance, and national prosperity? Or is it the science of self-government, meaning the study of how free people coordinate their affairs without constant management from above? These conceptions appear to conflict. Statesmanship implies centralized judgment. Self-government implies decentralized judgment. One vision emphasizes what governments do for societies, while the other emphasizes what societies can do for themselves.” (06/02/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/02/statesmanship-and-the-classical-liberal-order/

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“More than any other region, Asia has felt the knock-on effects of the Iran war in energy supplies. Before the conflict began in February, some 80% of the oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz went to Asian buyers. In recent weeks, as those supplies have dwindled, the region has endured blackouts, fuel rationing, and dozens of protests, from South Korea to the Philippines to India. The expectation was that each country would turn inward to protect petroleum supplies. Not so. With a population of more than half of humanity, Asia has shown a great deal of humanity in tackling the crisis together. ‘Now that they are hostage to events thousands of miles away,’ reported The Economist, ‘the squabbles that frequently break out between Asian neighbours no longer look quite such a threat.'” (06/01/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0601/The-Iran-war-sparks-partnership-in-Asia

Source: The Hill
by Gleb Tsipursky

“On a weekday morning in downtown Washington, federal buildings and corporate offices still feel half-full, even as return-to-office emails pile up. At the same time, across the Atlantic, the House of Lords has treated remote work not as a culture-war skirmish but as a subject for a full inquiry on home-based working, backed by extensive evidence and formal hearings. Its Home-based Working Committee spent 10 months asking two simple questions with big consequences: First, is working from home working? And second, if so, how should governments and employers respond? The answer, detailed by researcher Jane Parry in a synthesis of five years of evidence on hybrid work, is clear enough for policymakers. Hybrid work shows only modest average effects on productivity, but it delivers meaningful gains in labor supply, employment rates, recruitment, retention and office efficiency when it is managed deliberately.” (06/02/26)

https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/labor/5904519-hybrid-work-economic-infrastructure/

Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz

“What’s the point of trying to civilize the barbarians? Why demonstrate what liberal democracy can offer to a fundamentally illiberal civilization? Why bother trying to make inroads with a ‘basket of deplorables?’ Why bother trying to reason with people who ‘get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations?’ The irony is that the entire argument is fundamentally illiberal. The whole point of liberalism is that your ‘civilization’ does not define you. Nor does your race, sex, nationality, or religion. The whole point of liberalism is that the world is not divided into us versus them. Creating outgroups and outgroup hostility and moral panics is the authoritarian’s playbook. It’s immiserating.” (06/02/26)

https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/no-one-is-inexorably-illiberal

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“Multiple far right Israeli ministers attended New York City’s Israel Day Parade on Sunday, including Israel’s genocidal finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. Smotrich is ideologically not significantly different from a Nazi. Which means New York City just hosted a Nazi parade that was attended by thousands of people. New York officials are acting shocked and appalled by Smotrich’s appearance at the march, but ‘I can’t believe there were Israeli officials at the Israel parade’ is kind of a hard sell. This is just what supporting Israel looks like: standing shoulder to shoulder with genocidal extremists and making common cause with them. That’s what Israel is.” (06/02/26)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/06/02/thousands-of-new-yorkers-just-attended-a-nazi-parade-and-other-notes/