Contrary to popular belief, school uniforms are neither an authoritarian relic nor a retrograde symbol. Rather, as Jean-Claude Kaufmann shows, it reveals our delicate balance between equality, freedom and a sense of community.
An object of fascination for over a century, the flying car embodies a missed opportunity. From promising advances to costly disappointments, its story tells of our disappointed hopes, our fear of risk and what our dreams of tomorrow say about our present.
In the 19th century, a strange figure fueled the tales of travelers climbing the mountains of Switzerland: the «Alpine cretin». Whether a folk monster or the object of medical interest, his story reveals much more than a simple health phenomenon.
Why do some nations grow richer while others stagnate or decline? Two contemporary visions attempt to answer this crucial question. One of them is set out in a book by Deirdre McCloskey and Art Carden, recently published in French.
With its hostile territory, Switzerland had to find another recipe for success. So it developed a counter-model. In his essay L'identité suisse au défi, former diplomat Paul Widmer looks at the ingredients of Swiss success, the better to perpetuate it.
Founded in Geneva in 1915, Caran d'Ache - Russian for «pencil» - is part of the country's cultural heritage. Carole Hubscher, Chairman of the Board of Directors and the face of the fourth generation at the helm of the company, shares some of her manufacturing secrets with us.
In his first book, Jonas Follonier, with the help of philosopher Olivier Massin, identifies wokism and shows how this ideology is manifesting itself in the country, from cancelling conferences to redefining harassment. But is it really that prevalent?
Dans «La transformation de la Suisse (1847-1920). Regards de Georges Dommen», Bridget Dommen nous plonge dans une période charnière de l’histoire suisse, à travers le parcours d’un homme à la croisée des changements sociaux, économiques et technologiques.
Self-confident yet beset by doubts, Alexis de Tocqueville was a paradoxical man. In his biography, Olivier Zunz, Professor Emeritus of U.S. History at the University of Virginia, demonstrates the relevance of the author of the seminal book «Democracy in America».