The third big achievement, alongside democracy and prosperity, is the partial restoration of public-spiritedness, trust, decency and kindness.

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In the United States the hospital is seen as an emblem of public-spiritedness.

ECONOMIST: Gwen Mellon | The

Under the rubric of public-spiritedness, Mr. Clinton has enlisted the help of a number of major corporations, Democratic party operatives and policy wonks and public figures, including First Lady Laura Bush.

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Melissa Nobles, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specialises in apologology (our word), says that they can give official backing to a particular view of history, help contain political grievances peacefully and encourage public-spiritedness among alienated parts of the population.

ECONOMIST: Who should apologise to whom, for what and how?