It would be interesting, though very difficult, to study how history changes. I don’t mean how the sequence of human events changes from the present into the future, I mean how the past changes. Since it exists only in memory from our present perspective, the stories we believe about the past are the past. But those stories aren’t fixed. They change all the time.
Tag: history
The Gig Economy is What Yesterday’s Socialists Said They Wanted; Why do Today’s Socialists Hate it?
They don’t want the wage system to go away. They just want to run it. They don’t want the workers to own the means of production. They just want to tax and regulate it. They don’t want a classless society. They just want to be the new ruling class.
This One Weird Trick for Legalizing Marijuana
News flash for Governor Cuomo and New York’s legislators (and for politicians in all the other states lagging the legalization trend): Those 14-year-olds already have access to marijuana. So does everyone else.
Compulsory Schooling Laws Aren’t Progressive, They’re Inhumane
Someone asked me recently if I could wave a magic wand and do one thing to improve American education what would it be. Without hesitation, I replied: Eliminate state compulsory schooling statutes. Stripping the state of its power to define and control education under a legal threat of force is a necessary step in pursuit of education freedom and parental empowerment.
Social Media Regulation: Speak of the Devil and in Walks Zuck
In a recent column on the mating dance between Big Government and Big Tech, I noted that “Big Tech wants to be regulated by Big Governments because regulation makes it more difficult and expensive for new competitors to enter the market.” Two days after I hit “publish” on that column, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called for government regulation of social media in a Washington Post op-ed.
Big Government and Big Tech versus the Internet and Everyone
Governments around the world began trying to bring the Internet under control as soon as they realized the danger to their power represented by unfettered public access to, and exchange of, information. From attempts to suppress strong encryption technology to the Communications Decency Act in the US and China’s “Great Firewall,” such efforts have generally proven ineffectual. But things are changing, and not for the better.
Suppressing Discussion Doesn’t Solve the Problem; It is the Problem
Everywhere one looks these days, the world seems to be moving away from debate on contentious subjects and toward demands that those who have unpopular opinions — or even just ask impertinent questions — be forcibly silenced.
Make Something Crappy Today
One of my lofty goals is to make the world a freer place. How’s that supposed to guide daily action? Some days I begin by writing down the phrase, “Today I will live free.” That’s it. Just try to live as free as I can today.
Beware ‘It’s Getting Worse’ Narratives
I’m skeptical of any argument that says X or Y are worse than they used to be. Not because things can’t get worse. I don’t hold to the Whig theory of history. I’m skeptical because the ‘things are getting’ worse framework is always accepted and no one demands evidence.
I’m Shocked — Shocked! — that Wealthy Parents Love Their Kids Too
The public heartburn over Loughlin and Huffman seems less about them bribing their kids into good schools than about them being able to AFFORD to bribe their kids into good schools. Suppose the scandal had unfolded in a different way. What if, instead of rich people writing checks they could afford, it was working class parents scraping together money they really couldn’t afford, or trading menial work or even sexual favors a la Mrs. Gump, for illicit “admissions assistance?”