.THE PERSISTENCE OF BYlANTIUM Is Evil Banal? The End of Wilderness Edward Hirsch on lorge luis Barges EDITOR’S COMMENT s the WQ goes to press, Wall Street is riding a roller coaster, alarmed by anxious talk of “global economic contagion” and wor- A ries about the prospects of U.S. companies. The economies of Japan, Russia, and Indonesia are only at the forefront of those teetering on the edge of disaster. Amid such alarms, this issue’s focus on the promise (and per- ils) of the emerging digital economy couldn’t be more timely. Consider, for example, the fact that the global network of telecommunica- tion-linked computers is already a big force, possibly the biggest, behind the rise of our interconnected global economy. Not only do networked technolo- gies make new kinds of commerce across borders and oceans possible; these technologies, and the content they carry, are increasingly the object of such commerce. As the digital economy goes, to a large extent, so goes the global economy. Consider, too, how networked technologies helped precipitate the turmoil. By linking national economies with others, the cybermarket has increasingly forced all players to play by common, or at least similar, rules—to some nations’ dismay and disadvantage. Customs, institutions, and practices that might have served their nations adequately in the relatively insular past— Japan’s elaborate protectionism, for example, or Indonesia’s crony capitalism— appear to be dysfunctional in today’s interconnected economy. Yet even where the problems are obvious, many national leaders are reluctant or unable to jet- tison traditional ways of doing business. What makes the emerging digital economy even more pertinent to the cur- rent global mess is that both call for informed, decisive leadership. Decisions about a host of critical issues, ranging from laws and regulations to business practices and institution building, await action by leaders in government and industry. Neither technology nor the much vaunted magic of the marketplace will by itself assure a prosperous or productive future. For that, we need lead- ers—and informed citizens who choose those leaders—to address the kinds of challenges outlined in this issue. Editor: Jay Tolson The Wilson Quarterly (ISSN-0363-3276) is published Deputy Editor: Steven Lagerfeld in January (Winter), April (Spring), July (Summer), and Managing Editor: James H. Carman October (Autumn) by the Woodrow Wilson International Senior Editor: Robert K. Landers Center for Scholars at One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Literary Editor: Stephen Bates Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20523. A Associate Editor: James M. Morris complete article index is now available online at Poetry Editors: Anthony Hecht, Edward Hirsch http://wwics.si.edu/WQ/WEBIND.HTM. Subscriptions: Copy Editor: Vincent Ercolano one year, $24; two years, $43. 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Quigley & Rosen, Tel.: (212) 399-9500, Fax: (212) 265-0986. 2 WQ Autumn 1998 AUTUMN 1998 THE WILSON QUARTERLY Published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars WQ Online: http://wwics.si.edu/WQ 13 THE PROMISE & PERILS OF THE NEW ECONOMY J. Bradford De Long • Edward Tenner • Leslie D. Simon • Pamela Samuelson Hype surrounding the emerging digital economy suggests that boundless opportunity and prosperity are inevitable. Yet hard decisions must first be made if the virtual world is to yield real benefits. 66 THE PERSISTENCE OF BYZANTIUM by Warren Treadgold The Byzantine Empire lasted longer than any other of the great empires. More important, it produced a rich civilization that lives on in many parts of the modern world. 54 A NOTE ON THE BANALITY OF EVIL by Stephen Miller Philosopher Hannah Arendt’s famous explanation of the evil that produced the Holocaust and other 20th-century horrors falls far short of adequate. 60 THE END OF WILDERNESS by Marilynne Robinson The ideal of a pristine wilderness is one that we can no longer afford. DEPARTMENTS 2 EDITOR’S COMMENT 4 CORRESPONDENCE 9 FINDINGS Campaign Manners • Primate Parity • Net Depression 11 AT ISSUE The Human Touch 92 BOOKS The Good Citizen Anton Chekhov 109 POETRY Edward Hirsch on Jorge Luis Borges 115 PERIODICALS The Battle over Child Care Reconsidering Affirmative Action 141 RESEARCH REPORTS WQ 144 FROM THE CENTER cover Illustration by Alan Brown, Photonics Graphics. Design by Adrianne Onderdonk Dudden. The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. USPS 346-670 Volume XXII Number 4 Printed in the U.S.A. CORRESPONDENCE Letters may be mailed to One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20523, or sent via facsimile, to (202) 691-4036, or e-mail, to [email protected]. The writer’s telephone number and postal address should be included. For reasons of space, letters are usually edited for publication. Some letters are received in response to the editors’ requests for comment. One God(dess) ...or Many? Thank you for Cullen Murphy’s article [“Is writing plus the sensibleness of her per- the Bible Bad News for Women?” WQ, spectives. Summer ’98]. Scholars such as Tikva Frymer- Cullen Murphy caught this well, and, fol- Kensky who are experts on gender in antiqui- lowing Frymer-Kensky, framed the issues ty can help curb the effusions of goddess wor- memorably. I hope the two of them have wide ship enthusiasts. In Frymer-Kensky’s words, influence. My only complaint was with the modern feminist depictions of the past “come sudden end of the essay. There is so much right out of their psyches”—and it shows. more to be said on the complex issue of Frankly, I’ve never met a goddess in either monotheism and women. antiquity or the new age that I could live with. Neither writer engages much in polemics As a dedicated feminist, I see that the empha- against the invention of goddesses. But reading sis upon the goddess and great mother over- this prompted me to think again of the limits of rates the importance of sex and gender in the search for goddesses who will satisfy all the human lives and ends up confining women to passing desires of contemporary people. (Some false feminine roles. men search for goddess-wisdom, too.) Like many feminists, I hold that gender is To invent means two things. First, to find. only one good thread in the tapestry, one There are old goddess myths around to be happy theme in the symphony of life. A whole found. Second, to fabricate, to make up. There person is more than his or her gender, just as are new goddess myths being fashioned at this God is personal but transcends gender. Give moment. They may well have some positive me a monotheism that worships the one features; we are all supposed to go “to the named “I am who I am,” and creates human church of our choice,” and where others go is selves in God’s own image. no business of mine. But culture and politics Women who aspire to equality in both love beyond the sanctuary are. and work will flourish more fully when they When today’s invented goddesses are simply can call upon the living God using many, benign, they come across as too superficial and many different symbols: Friend, Lover, Crea- ephemeral to survive in the always tangled tor, Mother, Father, Shepherd, Redeemer, world of myth, which, if it is deep, deals with Wisdom, and so on. When, as Frymer-Kensky the dark side of things. When they are portrayed writes “God plays all the roles,” then so can as free of hierarchy, one simply must go looking women as God’s creations. for different, unfamiliar styles of hierarchy in How gratifying to find that the richness and their worlds. As for nonviolence? The romanti- variety of the Hebrew Bible texts can now be cizing of cultures in which goddesses receive seen to include real women’s powers and voic- worship always gets countered by demytholo- es, even in the face of male oppression. With gizing. These were not utopias and kingdoms of Eve, Miriam, Sara, Rachel, Judith, Esther, peace. Historical records of cultures we roman- Deborah, and the other wise women, who ticize usually find them violent, and anything needs a goddess? but places of liberation and egalitarianism.