You've all seen the New York Times TV spots, where one comely Yuppie after another steps forward to testify to the section of the ever-shrinking Weekend editions of the paper that infuses his or her high-consumption life with a roseate sense of well-being. The refrain of the ad underscores the social utility of this sense of plugged-inness: "Join the conversation," the voiceover coos, even though conversing with these pasteboard ingenues is just about the last thing any sane American would care to do.

But now, one gathers, the world economy is continuing to blindly reel toward oblivion, setting up a dilemma for the demographic the marketing masters of the Times so plainly covet: How to stage a conversation about certain urgent current events—global poverty, for instance—that doesn't also involve the awkward question of what earthly purpose the conversation-joiners are actually serving. READ MORE 2