The author is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times

United states, economy, growth, people

Nobody knows where this national journey of discovery will take us, but the voyage has begun

American Renaissance has begun

2019: The year when savage and previously unimaginable things might happen

city view, skyline

Wolves

Can the Constitution withstand the partisans?

2019: The Year of the Wolves

The big winner is the populist Five Star Movement, which was started by a comedian and is now led by a 31-year-old who had never held a full-time job

What happens to American politics after Donald Trump?

Business Standard

Artificial intelligence breakthrough is being driven by cheap parallel computation technologies, big data collection and better algorithms

Our machine masters

The Senate immigration Bill is the biggest pro-growth item on the agenda today

Pass the Bill!

If China is ever going to compete with developed economies, it'll have to go through a series of phase shifts. Creating effective brands is not just thinking like a low-end capitalist, only more so. It is an entirely different mode of thoughtIn the race to be the world's dominant economy, Americans have at least one clear advantage over the Chinese. We're much better at branding. American companies have these eccentric failed novelists and personally difficult visionary founders who are fantastic at creating brands that consumers around the world flock to and will pay extra for. Chinese companies are terrible at this. Every few years, Chinese officials say they're going to start an initiative to create compelling brands and the results are always disappointing.According to a recent survey by HD Trade services, 94 per cent of Americans cannot name even a single brand from the world's second-largest economy. Whatever else they excel at, Chinese haven't been able to produce a style of cap

The romantic advantage

Over here in the department of punditry, we deal with a lot of hard issues, ones on which the evidence is mixed and the options are all bad. But the immigration issue is a blessed relief. On immigration, the evidence is overwhelming; the best way forward is clear.

The easy problem 

The custom among the Pirah&atilde; Indians of Brazil is that women give birth alone. The linguist Steve Sheldon once saw a Pirah&atilde; woman giving birth on a beach, while members of her tribe waited nearby. It was a breech birth, however, and the woman started crying in agony. &ldquo;Help me, please! The baby will not come.&rdquo; Mr Sheldon went to help her, but the other Pirah&atilde; stopped him, saying that she didn&rsquo;t want his help.

Tribal lessons

President Obama&rsquo;s second inaugural comes at an interesting moment, what you might call the end of the era of the Grand Bargain. Throughout his first term, Democrats and Republicans didn&rsquo;t achieve a Grand Bargain on spending and taxes, but there was a sense that history was moving in that direction.

The next four years

It&rsquo;s always amazing how little Democrats and Republicans know about each other. Democrats, for example, are mystified that we haven&rsquo;t already gotten a deal on the &ldquo;fiscal cliff.&rdquo; On Monday, the two sides seemed close. Both made serious counteroffers, and a deal seemed a day away.

David Brooks

David Brooks

David Brooks

American Renaissance has begun

2019: The Year of the Wolves

What happens to American politics after Donald Trump?

Our machine masters

Pass the Bill!

The romantic advantage

The easy problem

Tribal lessons

The next four years

Strangers in the night