• Stoicism and Liberalism

    philosophy  ·  

    Originally published on my tumblr.

    Boing Boing recently ran some essays by William Irvine (see the first, second, and the third) which purport to offer the teachings of the Stoic philosophers as relevant to the modern world. I think there’s something to that: I know I have come back many times in the last few years...

  • Belated 9/11 Thoughts

    politics  ·  

    Originally published on my tumblr.

    For me, the thing to remember about 9/11 is that, when people (Fareed Zakaria for example) say that America overreacted to the attacks, it’s because they tapped into a lot of dark currents in American society that had been growing for years beforehand. As Chris Hayes documented masterfully in 2006, nostalgia for...

  • Post-Revolution

    politics  ·  

    Originally published on my tumblr.

    I was very sad to hear that Tony Judt, the historian, died recently. He was well-known, of course, for his book, Postwar, his critical statements about Israel, and, most movingly, his struggle with ALS, which ultimately killed him. What I particularly liked about him was his ability, as a good historian...

  • Thought Experiment

    environment  ·  

    Originally published on my tumblr

    I’ve been kicking this one around for a while now:

    Suppose you traveled back in time to Europe and the United States circa 1850. You explain to the political and economic elites of the time that their decision to industrialize through the use of coal and petroleum will set in motion a chain of...