It could happen
OnthecoverThere are no good options tocurb North Korea's missile-building. But blunderinginto war would be the worst:leader, page 7. Kim Jong Undoes notyet have a missilethat can strike America. Buthe' s dose, page 13. How awar on the Korean peninsulacould start-and howitmight end, page 14
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••Volume 424 Number 9052
Published since September1843totakepartin -aseverecontestbetweenintel/igence, which pressesforword, ondan unworthy, timid ignorance obstructingourprogress. n
Editorial offices in London and also:Atlanta, Beijing, Berlin, BrusseLs, Cairo, Chicago.Lima, Mexico City, Moscow, Mumbai, Nairobi,New Delhi, NewYork, Paris, San Francisco,S'o Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo,Washington DC
5 The world this week
Leaders7 War with North Korea
It could happen8 America's president and
the RepublicansNo deal
8 French reformsKeep your nerve
9 Politics in PakistanThird time unlucky
10 Housing in BritainRooms for improvement
Letters11 On Qatar, travel, English,
France, Ronald Reagan,the young old
Briefing13 North Korea's missiles
Testing, testìnq.;14 Warin Korea
Red lines and bad choices
Europe17 Sanctions on Russia
The punishment continues18 Russian relations with
AmericaArming Ukraine
18 The migrants Poland likesPlugging the gap
19 Urban planning in FranceWe'll always have Vald'Europe
20 CharlemagneDeutschland is dozing
Britain21 Housing
A nation of homebodies22 Tories and construction
March oftheYIMBYs23 Brexit planning
The sucking sound23 London investment
Reach for the skyscraper24 Bagehot
A history lesson
Middle East and Africa25 Kenya's election
The rematch26 South Africa
Hijacked buildings27 Nigerian verbosity
Get the gist?27 Israeli entertainment
Carrie on watching28 Climate and the Nile
Flood and famine
United States29 The White House
Though Mooch is taken,Mooch abides
30 TaxcutsDon't hold your breath
31 College admissionsPOTUSv Harvard
31 Maternal deathsA painful puzzle
32 Media mattersFox populi
33 Gangs and immigrationA horrible MS
34 LexingtonJeff Flake
The Americas35 Venezuela
Democracy done in36 Brazil
Temer survives36 Latin American media
English patients37 Bello
Venezuela's fantasy voting
Asia38 Politics in Pakistan
A Nawaz-shaped hole39 Papua New Guinea votes
Continuity, not stability39 Politics in India
BJP on a roll40 The Philippines' drugs war
Narco-consternation
3
Germany Aplacid electioncampaign has failed toacknowledgethe hard choicesfacing Europe's leadingeconomy: Charlemagne,page 20
Russian sanctions Dotheychange Vladimir Putin'sbehaviour? Page 17. Americamay at last bewilling to offerUkraine weapons, page 18
Kenya Another tumultuouselection, with a renewed fearofviolence, page 25
~~Contents continues overleaf
4 Contents The Economist August 5th 2017
PLAAsthe armed wing ofChina's Communist Partycelebrates its 90th anniversary,one ofXi Jinping's biggestreforms enters a new phase,paqe ai
Road-pridng lt has longbeen a good idea. Todayitisbecoming an urgentone,page43
France The poor performanceofthe country's state-ownedcompanies grows ever morestark, page 45. EmmanuelMacron has promised tonationalise France's biggestshipyard. Heis enteringdangerous waters: leader,page8
China41 The armed forces
Shrinking and flexing42 Waste management
Anti-dumping
International43 Transport
The price ofjam
Business45 Privatisation in France
National treasures46 Discovery and Scripps
Fuzzy signal47 Drug firms
Pharma frenemies47 Profiting from the Belt
and RoadWhere the twain shall meet
48 European productivityLe lon9 layoff
50 SchumpeterKing Kong
Economics brief51 Human capital
The people's champion
Finance and economies53 Phoenix economies
Turnaround stories54 Buttonwood
National balance-sheets55 Private equity
Secondaryeducation56 Interest rates
UBORpains56 Bitcoin splits
Knives and forks57 DNAand insurance
The gene is out of thebottle
Sdence and technology59 Genetic engineering
DNAand howtoadjustit60 Holograms
Winging the blues61 Paying for conservation
Awild idea
Books and arts62 Extinction
Not what it used to be64 Fiona Mozley's fiction
Call ofthe wild64 The aspirational class
Howto spend it65 Johnson
Game oftongues
68 Economie and finandalindieatorsStatistics on 42 economies,plus a closer look atpurchasing managers'indexes
Obituary70 Or G.Yunupingu
Singing the land
Spedes and extinctionThe world is in the grip ofthesixth mass extinction. ltisalso aboutto see a riot of newspecies, page 62
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Orecycle<O2017 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. Neitherthis publication nor any partofit may be reproduced. stored in a retrievalsystem. ortransmitted in anyform or by any means. etectronic. mechanical. photocopyinq. recording orother-wtse, withoutthe prior permission ofThe Economist Newspaper Limited. Published everyweek. exceptfor a year-end doubleissue, byThe Economist Newspaper Limited. The Economistis a registered trademarkofThe EconomistNewspaper Limited. Printed byVogel Druck und Medienservice GmbH, Leibnizstrafse 5, 97204 Hochberq. Deutschland. France, Numéro Commission Paritaire: 68832 GB. Encartd'abonnementde deux pages sìtuéentre les folios 10 et 130. Rapp. Italia: IMDsrl Via Guido da Velate 1120162Milano Aut. Trib. MI272 del 13/04/8B Poste Italiane SpA - Sped Abb Post DL353/2003 (conv, L. 27/2/2004 n.46) art 1comma 1 DCBMilano, Dir. Resp. Domenico Tassinari