Author Archives: William Sundwick

What Comes Next?

History is not a science — it doesn’t predict the future, or “repeat itself.” But studying history does develop critical thinking and other great skills. It shouldn’t be minimized!

Optimism Is a Challenge … And Nostalgia Feels So Good

Uncertainty can be frightening. Few of us can muster the confidence needed to consistently maintain a posture of optimism through life’s many challenging uncertainties. We know we will die … someday. But the date is uncertain. Our children and grandchildren will likely outlive us, however, and they will face additional uncertainty in their lives –Continue reading “Optimism Is a Challenge … And Nostalgia Feels So Good”

Truth, Power, Coercion, Acquiescence

Michel Foucault, and his Truth and Power philosophy seems to have become very trendy lately — even though it’s over half a century old. It must be that we’re looking for a new epistemology as we move through the 21st century!

Bureaucracy Is (or Should Be) Your Friend

Hobbes to Weber to Trotsky … and Beyond? Over the last few decades in America, and perhaps elsewhere, “bureaucracy” and “bureaucrat” have taken on a pejorative connotation. Why is that? The basic idea of the word (from the French for, literally, a desk) is to describe organizational structures which serve the interests of a leader.Continue reading “Bureaucracy Is (or Should Be) Your Friend”

Labor Productivity

People oversimplify the idea of productivity, and the basic concept is pretty simple (Productivity = Output/Input). But the modern world economy, due to technology, social forces, etc. makes the definition of “productivity” a bit more interesting …