Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

New on nybooks.com: The problem with nudging, the life and death of Seneca, the costs of American joblessness and incarceration, and the future of millennials in the Middle East. Plus a look at what Scotland’s independence vote means, Beijing’s harsh sentence for a Uighur critic, and the world of botanical explorers.

It’s All for Your Own Good Jeremy Waldron What becomes of the self-respect we invest in our own willed actions, flawed and misguided though they often are, when so many of our choices are manipulated to promote what someone else sees as our best interest?   ADVERTISEMENT   How Stoical Was Seneca? Mary Beard For a philosopher who had devoted so much of his writing to preparations for death, Seneca made a very bad job of it when his own turn came.   On America’s Front Lines Christopher Jencks Alice Goffman’s On the Run is an engrossing book that should also become an ethnographic classic. It describes the world of young jobless black men who have seldom finished high school.   ADVERTISEMENT   The Pillars of Arab Despotism Robert F. Worth ISIS may not pose a direct threat to anyone outside of Syria or Iraq at the moment. But eventually, many of its fighters are likely to make their way homeward. They will be fearless and well trained, and, being young, they will have many years ahead of them.   Events with Daniel Mendelsohn, Darryl Pinckney, Joyce DiDonato, and more in our calendar.   What Scotland Won Jonathan Freedland David Cameron is now honor-bound to cede many new powers to Scotland, and at breakneck speed. If the prime minister keeps his word, the Scottish parliament will be in charge not only of health, education, and the like, as at present, but taxes and welfare benefits too.   The Jailing of Ilham Tohti Ian Johnson The economist and Uighur activist, a fierce critic of the Chinese government, has been sentenced to life in prison for “separatism,” even though he opposes independence for Xinjiang. I asked several prominent public intellectuals for their thoughts on Ilham and his trial.   Among the Plant Hunters Robin Lane Fox Now that ‘plant scientists’ have moved inward to study cells and genes, botanical artists are today’s close observers of flowers and fruits.