Globalism Is Good, Actually
This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Every Friday, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Question of the Week
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced a ban on importing Russian oil and natural gas into the United States, arguing that the new economic sanction would strike a “powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.” He added that the ban “is not without cost here at home,” explaining that gas prices were already high, and that the ban would drive them up more. Did he make the right call?
Email your thoughts to conor@theatlantic.com. I’ll publish a selection of correspondence in Friday’s newsletter.
Conversations of Note
The war in Ukraine remains the most important news story in the world, but I’ll touch on it more briefly this week than last, starting with a column with the weighty title “How to Stop a Nuclear War.” Ross Douthat argues against those urging a maximalist approach to defeating Vladimir Putin:
The voices for now because we’ll have to fight him sooner or later
