Forgive me for repeating myself: Trump is a caricature of a conventional American politician — which is why the political establishment despises him so. He lacks the diplomatic costume that makes brutality acceptable or at least enables people to live comfortably with their heads in the sand.
Tag: respect
Intelligence, Knowledge, and Self-Respect
Intelligence without ego-strength, a vibrant knowledge base containing various ideologies, and self-respect means little. It will largely mean you are a calculator, an emotional reactionary, or an eloquent parrot.
Can For-Profit Schools Revolutionize Education? One Entrepreneur Is Betting Yes.
As much as we (rightfully) decry the persistence of factory-style mass schooling, we should remember that this remnant of the Industrial Age was, at its time, quite innovative.
Politics = Lies
I dislike dishonesty, particularly when it is used to harm people who aren’t doing anything to deserve the harm. This is why I dislike politics– beyond the institutional theft and aggression, that is.
Parents, Relax, You Don’t Need to Smother
I don’t have a problem with having a friendly and cooperative relationship with your kids, in fact, I think it is ideal. I just believe that the incentives are being misaligned. We are misreading a child’s general desire for play and social interaction with peers as a desire for parental attention and validation.
Battling Assumptions
In the first case, I am reflecting on a book that I am reading; The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything, by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey. The premise is that it took many centuries for the current paradigm, double entry bookkeeping, to revolutionize the marketplace, but now that the effect of those who would game the system pretty well offsets the increase of those who honestly abide by the system, it is time to find a new, greed-proof paradigm.
Liberty in America During the Great War
There’s always plenty for libertarians to complain about in our troubled world, but in many respects, things could be much worse. I’m thinking particularly of how the U.S. government punished dissent before, during, and even after America’s participation in World War I. Although it will be a few years before we observe the centenary of…
I Kinda Understand Ancestor Worship Now
I remember first hearing about the ancestor worship practiced in some world cultures. I was bemused – clearly this was a silly superstition – one of the sillier religious beliefs that wasn’t mine. But now the phenomenon of ancestor worship is starting to make a little more sense as I get older.
The Siren of Democratic Fundamentalism
Every economics textbook explain how market outcomes can go wrong. Externalities. Monopoly. Asymmetric information. Irrationality. Democratic outcomes can easily go wrong for all the same reasons. Is it possible that Scandinavians simply underestimate the severity of the disincentives their policies generate?
On Charity
I have never felt any particular pull toward giving money to charity. I don’t give money to beggars and panhandlers, and I don’t give money to relief funds. Why not? I’m not entirely sure.