Steven Mazie

Steven Mazie

Professor of Political Studies, BHSEC-Manhattan | Supreme Court Correspondent, The Economist

Steven V. Mazie is Professor of Political Studies at Bard High School Early College-Manhattan and Supreme Court Correspondent for The Economist. He holds an A.B. in Government from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan. Mazie’s recent publications include “Up from Colorblindness: Equality, Race and the Lessons of Ricci v. DeStefano” (2011), “Rawls on Wall Street” at the New York Times (2011),“Equality, Race and Gifted Education: An Egalitarian Critique of Admission to New York City’s Specialized High Schools” (2009) and Israel’s Higher Law: Religion and Liberal Democracy in the Jewish State (2006). He has taught at the University of Michigan (1998), New York University (2001) and Bard College (2005, 2011).

 

Neither happiness nor success “can be pursued,” says Viktor Frankl. These states of being must “ensue...as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself.” 
The Achilles heel of AI is an inability to discriminate between sources of knowledge that are trustworthy and those that are deceitful and manipulative.
The cognitive equivalent of snacking on Twinkies dipped in whey protein to prepare for a triathalon.
While the battle over the next Supreme Court justice will be fought in the realm of bare-knuckle, high-octane politics, the daily business of the justices is often a good deal less partisan.
The reward of the doldrums is an uptick, however temporary, in your ability to make rational decisions.  
A more nuanced picture of Justice Antonin Scalia’s 30-year stint on the nation’s highest court tells a tale that complicates the conservative-mouthpiece narrative.
There is a new SAT exam in town, and it’s a major revision. This five-question quiz will test the limits of your vocabulary.
People who prevail in competitions have an unfortunate tendency to swindle others to keep up their winning streaks. Even a small win against an unfamiliar foe in a game with very low stakes seems to light a fire that makes it easier to swindle and defraud our fellow human beings.
New research shows that the most effective leaders, from Abraham Lincoln to Jeff Bezos, are always questioning their own convictions. 
Free riders choose to reap the rewards of a public good without paying their portion of the cost necessary to produce it.
If you’re a white, middle-class woman who scans the headlines all day, you’re more likely than not to be among the angriest of Americans.
No doubt you've heard one of these arguments given as a reason against gun control. Problem is, it's very dubious logic.
Despite all those weeks sunning themselves and enjoying breaks from work, the French are among the most productive workers in the world. Americans could be, too. 
A concern with quiet students' well-being should not push us back to outdated educational models.
Scalia was sitting right next to Clarence Thomas, the sole African-American justice, when he made these startling comments.
You know you’ve gone off the deep end when the human incarnation of Darth Vader says your proposal “goes against everything we stand for and believe in.”
As it turns out, assessing long-term risk/reward ratio isn't our strong suit.
Those who want to keep Syrian refugees out of the country are succumbing to a classic error of logical reasoning. 
Three passages that will pay dividends when parsed carefully by a patient reader.
Reading is dangerous, but there's no harm in preparing students for the challenge.