Foreign Policy does a Think Tank Index in its Jan/Feb issue. Think Tanks came on the political and social scene in the 1950's, filling roles that had traditionally been filled by a combination of the academy and government. The number of US think tanks has doubled since 1980. Even though I work at a think tank, I've had mixed feelings about the rise of such institutes because it often means a corollary decline in the public responsibility of the academy. I have also heard friends criticize think tanks as privatizing and commercializing the policy process. But contra these critics I believe the world of ideas - like the world of economics - is not a zero sum game: it is a world of absolute, not merely relative gains.
Foreign Policy's field guide differentiates between five types of think tanks: Policymakers, Partisans, Phantoms, Scholars and Activists. Canada has a polite h/t via 2 of the top 20 global think tanks: the Fraser Institute and the Canadian International Council. I suppose, like Pamela Anderson and Avril Lavigne, these are our think tank ambassadors, for better or worse.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Think Tank? Think Tank!
Labels: Think Tanks
Posted by Adunare at 10:31 AM
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2 comments:
Thank you for the generous citation of my earlier film trailer.
In 25 years or so, let's hope another Tank of some repute will be on the list.
And what a heart pounding action flick it was. Missed you - btw - O'O on the year's end. I, at least, began my new year weeping, hugging myself in a dark corner crying out for sweet O'O.
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