Reflections on Armistice Day Gene drives: don’t ban, don’t rush Bangladesh’s grotesque politics Tencent at 20 NOVEMBER 10TH–16TH 201 Where next? Contents The Economist November 10th 2018 3 The world this week Britain 6 A round-up of political 25 Universities’ iffy finances and business news 26 Did Leave cheat? 28 Military recruitment Leaders 28 Jeremy Heywood, master 11 America after the servant mid-terms Where next? 30 Profitable care homes 30 Knife crime spikes 12 European defence EU and whose army? 31 Parties pinch policies 12 Bangladesh 31 Cryptic crosswords Electoral troll 32 Bagehot Peterloo v 14 Gene drives Waterloo On the extinction of On the cover species Europe Divided government for a 16 Video games 33 NATO revs up divided country: leader, page 11. The price of free 34 French labour-market Democrats end unified reform Republican government and Letters will provide a check on the 35 Germany’s next leader? president, page 38. As 20 On gender identity, New 35 Greece’s licensed Democrats improve in the Zealand, California, anarchists Brexit, “In Our Time” suburbs, they grow even 36 Rostov-on-Don weaker in rural states, page 39 Briefing 37 Charlemagne Reflections • Reflections on Armistice Day on the Armistice 22 Gene drives No continent, even one as old as Extinction on demand Europe, can truly master its United States history: Charlemagne, page 37. 38 The House turns Partially democratic countries Democratic fight in wars most often: Graphic The Senate detail, page 89 39 40 Ballot initiatives • Gene drives: Don’t ban, don’t rush Research into gene drives 41 Governors’ races should continue. But the worries 41 Sessions sacked they raise must be addressed: 42 Organising elections leader, page 14. The promise and 43 Lexington Immigration peril of a new genetic- and the Democrats engineering technology, page 22 • Bangladesh’s grotesque The Americas politics A poster-child for 48 The Latinobarómetro development is disfigured by its survey politics: leader, page 12. The 49 The tequilisation of ruling party appears to be easing Schumpeter The world’s mezcal up ahead of an impending second-most-populous election, page 55 50 Bello Judges turn country has been flirting political • Tencent at 20 A Chinese with a Lehman moment, internet titan shakes things up page 70 Middle East & Africa after a singularly bruising year, page 65. The rush to extract 51 Africa’s urban opposition money from video-game players 52 Repression in Tanzania risks a regulatory backlash: 53 Elections in Madagascar leader, page 16 53 Chinese medicine in Africa 53 Libya’s peace process 54 Films about jihadists 1 Contents continues overleaf 4 Contents The Economist November 10th 2018 Asia Finance & economics 55 Election season in 71 American farmers’ woes Bangladesh 72 Buttonwood Housing in 56 Banyan Pakistan’s global cities indecisive authorities 73 Hester Peirce at the SEC 57 Robots in Japan 74 1MDB and Goldman 57 China and New Zealand Sachs 58 Forced labour in 74 Naughty banks and IPOs Uzbekistan 75 Non-wage compensation 59 Ageing Vietnam 75 Topping the diaspora 76 Free exchange The China Italian budget showdown 60 Mapping Xi Thought 61 Language in Macau Science & technology 62 Chaguan Japan’s soft 79 Deep-sea mining power in China 80 Reopening flooded mines 81 Spiders and streetlights 82 How to join art’s elite International 63 Pope Francis on the ropes Books & arts 83 A critique of atheism 84 The new genetic revolution 85 A novel of American turmoil Business 85 Chopin’s life and times 65 Tencent’s annus horribilis 86 The puppet-mistress of 66 Amazon’s headquarters Mali 67 Booming billboards 67 The rise of biosimilars Economic & financial indicators 68 European firms and Iran 88 Statistics on 42 economies 69 The growth of microbrands Graphic detail 70 Schumpeter India’s 89 Partially democratic countries fight in wars most often shadow-banking crisis Obituary 90 Whitey Bulger, South Boston’s mobster-in-chief Subscription service For our full range of subscription ofers, including digital only or print and digital combined, visit: Volume 429 Number 9117 Economist.com/offers Published since September 1843 to take part in “a severe contest between You can also subscribe by post, telephone or email: One-year print-only subscription (51 issues): Please intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance Post: The Economist Subscription UK..........................................................................................£145 obstructing our progress.” Services, PO Box 471, Haywards Heath, RH16 3GY, UK Editorial offices in London and also: PEFC certified Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Cairo, Telephone: 0845 120 0 83 or This copy of The Economist Chicago, Johannesburg, Madrid, Mexico City, 0207 576 8448 is printed on paper sourced Moscow, Mumbai, New Delhi, New York, Paris, from sustainably managed San Francisco, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Email: customerservices forests certified by PEFC Singapore, Tokyo, Washington DC @subscriptions.economist.com PEFC/16-33-582 www.pefc.org Registered as a newspaper. © 2018 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of The Economist Newspaper Limited. Published every week, except for a year-end double issue, by The Economist Newspaper Limited. The Economist is a registered trademark of The Economist Newspaper Limited. Printed by Wyndeham Peterborough Limited. 6 The world this week Politics The Economist November 10th 2018 Donald Trump sacked Jeff un investigators found more Australia’s government bowed Sessions as attorney-general. than 200 mass graves in Iraq to criticism from human- Mr Sessions had attracted the containing between 6,000 and rights groups and said it would president’s ire for recusing 12,000 bodies. The graves date move refugee children and himself from overseeing the from 2014 to 2017, when the their families from a detention special counsel’s investigation jihadists of Islamic State ran centre it operates in Nauru to into Russian meddling in the territory that is under Australia itself. But it also said elections. Mr Trump replaced investigation. it would not allow them to him on an interim basis with remain permanently. Matt Whitaker, a critic of that investigation. From judge to politician Myanmar’s ruling party, the Sérgio Moro, a Brazilian judge National League for Democra- In America’s mid-term elec- who has been leading the Lava cy, lost by-elections in several tions, the Democrats won the Penalty kicks Jato (Car Wash) investigations districts inhabited mainly by House of Representatives for After pulling out of a nuclear of corruption among poli- ethnic minorities that it had the first time in a decade. They deal with Iran earlier in the ticians, accepted an offer from won at the most recent nation- gained a firm majority, helped year, America’s most punish- the country’s rightist presi- al election, in 2015. by a surge in support from ing sanctions on the country dent-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, to white women and from voters came into effect, aiming to lead a new “super-ministry” of China’s president, Xi Jinping, aged under 30. Just under a cripple its already struggling justice and public security. Mr and his American counterpart, quarter of the new House will economy. Hassan Rouhani, the Moro had ordered the jailing of Donald Trump, held their first be female. Two Muslim women Iranian president, called it an Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a publicly disclosed telephone and two Native American act of “economic war”. France left-wing former president. conversation in six months. Mr women won seats, a first for vowed to help European firms Trump described it as “long both groups. Nancy Pelosi said defy the sanctions. A jury was selected for the trial and very good”, and said it had she would stand for Speaker, in New York of Joaquín Guz- covered the two countries’ again, but has said she would Saudi members of a team mán, also known as El Chapo trade conflict as well as North be a “transitional” figure. assisting the Turkish authori- (Shorty), the former leader of Korea. China’s foreign ministry ties investigate the killing of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug gang. said the call was “positive”. A good night for the Democrats Jamal Khashoggi inside the Mr Guzmán escaped twice in the House wasn’t replicated Saudi consulate in Istanbul last from prison, most recently in in the Senate, where the month were accused of trying 2015, when he tunnelled out of Army dreamers Republicans increased their to remove evidence. a maximum-security jail. He majority by picking up Indi- was recaptured and extradited ana, Missouri, North Dakota Despite America’s call for to the United States. and probably Florida. Mitt peace talks, the war in Yemen Romney will embark on a new escalated, as forces backed by a Ecuador’s supreme court career after winning a Senate Saudi-led coalition advanced ordered the country’s former seat in Utah. Beto O’Rourke, on rebel positions in the port president, Rafael Correa, to the darling of the Democrats, city of Hodeida. More than 150 stand trial on charges that he narrowly failed to unseat Ted people are reported to have participated in a failed plot to Cruz in Texas. been killed in the past week. kidnap an opposition con- Hodeida’s port is critical for gressman in 2012. Mr Correa The Democrats also won seven feeding millions of Yemenis at has been living in Belgium governorships, which includ- risk of famine. since he left office in 2017. He Emmanuel Macron used a ed the defeat of Scott Walker, denies wrongdoing.