Bemoaning the indulgence and laxity of the present in comparison to a more arduous, hardworking past is a time-honored tradition.
Systems, Morals, Rulers, and Rebels
When I shared that notion – that evil is a matter of mismatched expectations – with some colleagues in a conversation, they thought I was making a joke. It’s not intended as one. Indeed, it is a somewhat frightening, and certainly disconcerting, idea to countenance
Some Thoughts Concerning Golden Dome
My greatest concern with Golden Dome is not its technical feasibility, its geopolitical impact, or even its cost. It is that Golden Dome may prove a distraction from addressing the threats we are far more likely to face, and breed complacency in the process.
Fictional (Un)Just War Theory
A fantasy story I was reading recently which featured an alternative world setting and so forth, happened to mention war crimes. It presented this as natural and expected, except that the world-building did not support it.
Post Post-Scarcity
The answer to our human ills does not lie with limitless energy or a post-scarcity society. If anywhere, it lies within us.
Educational Omission
Despite categorizing many of my posts as ‘educational content,’ I rarely set out to teach you something in a rigorous fashion; instead, I am usually attempting to explicate a specific concept or idea, without providing full context or progressing through an entire topic.
A Not Unactive Post About George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”
Orwell's essay on "Politics and the English Language" is among my most oft-cited pieces on language and writing, and its lessons and criticisms are as valid today as they were in 1946.
A News Story
Breaking news: we're discussing "the news" for today's post. A massive topic, with entire facets meritorious of their own posts, but for today I prefer to focus on the most fundamental questions when analyzing the news as a concept: what is the news, and is "news" valuable?
Still Relevant: The US Constitution
For all the millions of words which have been written, starting with The Federalist Papers, on the US Constitution, what is perhaps most striking about it from an initial inspection is its brevity.
Thoughts on John Milton’s Areopagitica
It was in this pursuit that I came across John Milton's Areopagitica, which is considered by many amongst the first, cogent defenses of the right to freedom of speech.
