… Am I Still Optimistic? Last April, I wrote a Warp & Woof piece entitled: The World in 2124 … I’m Cautiously Optimistic. Much has happened in the world since then. Has the optimism of my “medium-term” prediction for the next 100 years diminished? The main events, from a historical perspective, that transpired in subsequentContinue reading “Amending “The World in 2124””
Category Archives: Past
Clausewitz Was Wrong
No, I’m not disputing the famous Carl von Clausewitz aphorism: “War is merely the continuation of policy by additional means.” It’s hard to disagree with that – regardless of whether you translate the German “politik” as policy, politics, or diplomacy. The statement is self-evident from our historical experience. Clausewitz, however, was establishing a dialectical tensionContinue reading “Clausewitz Was Wrong”
Peak Television?
I miss those “peak TV” years of long-running quality drama series with characters you could relate to, and situations you could dream about … will “trough TV” last much longer?
Rating Ourselves as Information Consumers
We all have our favorite information bubbles, but they’re not necessarily bad. The secret is to accept that they don’t reflect the whole world!
Mysteries of Public Opinion Polling
Insiders May Know … But the Rest of Us? This November’s election for President looks really, really close! For months now, despite felony convictions, unhinged rhetoric, and polarized media coverage, the polls haven’t budged much. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are each a coin toss away from a January 2025 inauguration. I, for one, can’tContinue reading “Mysteries of Public Opinion Polling”
War in the Year 2024: Why Do They Fight, and How?
It’s true that warfare has persisted throughout human history. Evidence exists that tribes even fought in paleolithic times – like chimpanzees today. But, at least since Plato’s time, we humans have also believed in idealism. Peace is better than war, and continuous warfare is never thought to be the ideal human condition! Indeed, those whoContinue reading “War in the Year 2024: Why Do They Fight, and How?”
The World in 2124
Predicting the future — to a time after we are all dead — is not so hard, especially if you don’t have to support any of your projections!
Factionalism and Particularity
I need to further clarify one particular paragraph in my last post, “Everything I Know About Politics” … sorry, readers!
Everything I Know About Politics
Most readers will agree that politics is about power. It’s about interpersonal power in social settings. It’s about group influence over governance. Decision-making. Organizing. Motivating followers. Some people are good at the personal side of this – the art of politics. Others expend great effort to understand the dynamics of politics – the ideologies andContinue reading “Everything I Know About Politics”
Where Have All the Anarchists Gone?
understanding political philosophy — like anarchism or socialism — requires a quick dip into its intellectual history — anarchism’s Big Three thinkers were Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin (in that order!)
Warp and Woof 