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?”
Category Archives: Past
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!)
What I Learned from Tabletop Wargaming
Tabletop wargames were a peculiar fascination of a small group of hobbyists 50-60 years ago — that group included me!
War, What Is It Good For?
I belong to the generation that fondly remembers Edwin Starr’s 1970 Motown hit, “War.” It was meaningful to our Vietnam generation because it both reflected our predominant philosophy of war (generally pacifist) and apparently justified our antipathy toward the specific American war of the age. It was most likely recorded and marketed with that zeitgeistContinue reading “War, What Is It Good For?”
Meaning and Ideology
Ideologies may capture us for social reasons — they give us community — then we outgrow them. Is it time to try something new, and still meaningful?
Class Struggle Doesn’t Go Away, It Just Evolves
The world has changed much since Marx and Engels published their Communist Manifesto in 1848 — but it doesn’t mean they were wrong!
2023 Election Results: Winners, Losers, and Looking Ahead
More than one week after 2023 election day has passed — it’s now past the news cycle expiration date, but still worth contemplating trends for 2024.
