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”
Tag Archives: Karl Marx
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 …
The Problem with “Degrowth”
Why Is This Economic Model Consigned to Such an Ignominious Little Left-wing Niche? In 1972, the Club of Rome published its alarmist report The Limits to Growth. 52 years ago, the world had not yet discovered climate panic. Indeed, climate science was still developing its nascent modeling techniques – not yet recognized by a generalContinue reading “The Problem with “Degrowth””
Wealth Creation: Does it Matter Where it Comes From?
Rent-seeking, in economic thought, seems to be critical to capitalism’s survival … but so is labor! Both are necessary to achieve the abundance we all seek …
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!
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!)
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!
Is the Age of Neoliberalism Finally Over?
Neoliberalism has become an epithet in economic circles lately, but what replaces it? It’s time to move on beyond the politically charged labels we hear in election campaigns …
Warp and Woof 