In a dynamic, decentralized system of individual choice and responsibility, people do not have to trust any authority but their own.

Glamour is translucent — not transparent, not opaque. It invites us into the world but it doesn’t give us a completely clear picture.

The SAT is not perfect. We all know smart, knowledgeable people who do badly on standardized tests. But neither is it useless. SAT scores do measure both specific knowledge and valuable thinking skills.

The impulse for personal adornment is hard to stamp out.

The mobile middle class gravitates to the cities where housing is affordable.

Medicare is immune from the competitive pressures that force private insurers to pay attention to what patients and doctors want.

Kidney disease is a low-profile, unglamorous problem, a disease that disproportionately strikes minorities and the poor. Its celebrity spokesman is blue-collar comedian George Lopez, who received a kidney from his wife.