Often I have been asked, by Washington policy intellectuals and California environmental activists, why Harper’s magazine doesn’t publish program notes for a brighter American future or blueprints for the building of a better tomorrow. All well and good, they say, to point to the flaws in the system, or to suggest that the leading cast members of the Bush Administration be sent to sea in open boats, but why so many jokes, and to what end the impractical criticism? Where are the helpful suggestions and the tools for forward looking reform? ... If I had answers to the questions I’d stand for elective office; as an editor I’ve been more interested in the play of mind than its harnessing to a political bandwagon.