For a crowd to be smart, the people in it need to be not only diverse in their perspectives but also, relatively speaking, independent of each other. In other words, you need people to be thinking for themselves, rather than following the lead of those around them. James Surowiecki crowddiverseindependent share on social
Medical tourism can be considered a kind of import: instead of the product coming to the consumer, as it does with cars or sneakers, the consumer is going to the product. James Surowiecki carcomeconsider Change image and share on social
Being unemployed is even more disastrous for individuals than you'd expect. Aside from the obvious harm - poverty, difficulty paying off debts - it seems to directly affect people's health, particularly that of older workers. James Surowiecki affectdebtdifficulty share on social
The truth is that the United States doesn't need, and shouldn't have, a debt ceiling. Every other democratic country, with the exception of Denmark, does fine without one. James Surowiecki ceilcountrydebt Change image and share on social
If private-equity firms are as good at remaking companies as they claim, they don't need tax loopholes to make money. James Surowiecki claimcompanyequity Change image and share on social
From a social point of view, it's beneficial that homeownership encourages commitment to a given town or city. But, from an economic point of view, it's good for people to be able to leave places where there's less work and move to places where there's more. James Surowiecki beneficialcitycommitment share on social
Patrimonial capitalism's legacy is that many people see reform as a euphemism for corruption and self-dealing. James Surowiecki capitalismcorruptiondeal Change image and share on social
Life insurance became popular only when insurance companies stopped emphasizing it as a good investment and sold it instead as a symbolic commitment by fathers to the future well-being of their families. James Surowiecki commitmentcompanyemphasize share on social
Campaigns fail if they waste resources courting voters who are unpersuadable or already persuaded. Their most urgent task is to find and persuade the few voters who are genuinely undecided and the larger number who are favorably disposed but need a push to actually vote. James Surowiecki campaigncourtdispose share on social
As technology improves, on-screen avatars look more and more like real people. When they start looking too real, though, we pull away. These almost-humans aren't quite right; they look creepy, like zombies. James Surowiecki avatarcreepyhuman share on social
