Longreads

The shortage of housing in Newham, east London, and new benefit caps are forcing tenants to take what they can. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian Maria's front door has a house number – 48 –…

All over the world people are struggling for lives that are worthy of their human dignity. Leaders of countries often focus on national economic growth alone, but their people, meanwhile, are striving for something different: meaningful lives for themselves. Increased GDP has not always made a difference in the quality of people’s lives, and reports of national prosperity are not likely to console those whose existence is marked by inequality and deprivation.

Evgeny Morozov traces the development of the web from the laboratories of the Cold War to the world of venture capital and big money …