“So yes, we are not experiencing the best times, but there is reason to hope that we will see a better day.”
We live in the age of reason. The gods have fallen and turned to dust and science has taken their place. We no longer worship at alters lit by candles and the uncertain flames of burning offerings, and we no longer heed the advice of mystic oracles or those who claim to speak for the gods.
Or so we think.
The debate about global warming is raging hot these days, and no wonder. Not only is the weather more volatile than ever, but the topic is apparently tricky enough that even scientists are getting lost trying to traverse it. So how is the rest of us going to have a chance of finding out what is up and down? A case in point. Recently there was a scientist who appeared […]
I was visiting a friend the other day, drinking coffee and chatting about stuff and politics, when he suddenly turns to me and asks, “By the way, have you seen this?” And turning on the screen, he went to YouTube, “The Alt-Right Playbook: You Go High, We Go Low”. I am not sure that “flabbergasted” is the right word. But certainly somewhere just between “intrigued” and “fascinated”. The way that […]
In 1776 the Scottish economist and philosopher, Adam Smith, released his magnum opus, “The Wealth of Nations” and laid the foundation for classical economic theory – and modern Capitalism. The world at that time was significantly simpler in many ways than it is today, and our knowledge of economics, sociology, and politics has advanced considerably since then. But underneath all of our modern-day complexity, the economic foundation is the same: […]
There is a common superstition doing the rounds in our modern, Western democracies today. It is kept alive by hearsay, by greed, and – sadly – by the “wise words” of economists and politicians who have never actually been out in the real world and worked for a living. And it is repeated, again and again, as a sacred litany against all ills in our economy: “Privatisation is good!” Which […]
I have published two essays here on my blog; a compilation of my present posts for those of you who may be interested in longer texts – and in reading my posts in sequence: “The Shape of Reality” and “The Sickness Within” They do not contain new material, apart from a small preamble, but seeing the whole thing as a coherent and logical argument may be both useful and interesting. […]
“Democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt, president & statesman It is an interesting contradiction in modern times that even as we live in democracies, we spend a […]
Humans are marvellously adaptable. It is common to hear that it is our brains which have made us what we are today – the dominant species on the planet. But really it is our ability to adapt, to carry on whatever the odds and challenges, which is our main strength. The brain – is merely a tool to that end. It helps us adapt and make do. But this ability […]
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” — Edward Abbey, American author and essayist There is a sickness within capitalism. It is endemic, part of the system, and thus very difficult to fix. It is also largely ignored these days, except when it manifests in its most blatant and symptomatic form: monopolies. Monopolies, however, are only a symptom. The underlying disease is quite different […]
The problem with captive media is that when a news channel like, for instance, Fox News is owned lock, stock, and barrel by a major corporation, it will find it immensely difficult to be neutral and objective in its reporting. There will be a strong pressure – directly or indirectly – to report in a way which is aligned with the fundamental interests of their corporate owners. There is, indeed, […]
Northern Dragon 