Getting a seat on the Iron Throne is a pretty raw deal, and even if you have it, you might now have it for long. So why do Game of Thrones‘s rulers spill so much blood to get there? Why not consolidate their own power elsewhere? And why does the question of who sits in leadership draw so many other people into the sinkhole of war?
Tag: world
Was Antebellum Slavery More Tolerable Than Soviet Communism?
Average slaves in America were ‘owned’ by people who could legally do just about anything they wanted to their slaves. However, since slaves were so costly, and their work depended greatly on how they were treated … slaves generally had plenty of leisure time, rare physical punishment, and various worldly pleasures at their disposal. Of course, this in no way justifies slavery, and there are plenty of stories of absolute brutality of some individuals.
New Reflections on the Evolution in France
The biggest change is the ubiquitous police and military presence. Teams of militarized police and policified military patrol every tourist site and every public function, plus numerous random locations. It wasn’t just Paris; even small cities like Bayeaux were on guard. I’ve never seen anything like this in the United States, even on September 12, 2001.
The Welfare of Society is not the Welfare of the State
Society and the state do not share the same progress chart. The welfare of one doesn’t positively correlate with the welfare of the other. In fact, most of the time, there is an inverse relationship.
15,000 Hours of Playing School
As so often happens when we reach adulthood, and especially parenthood, we realize how much we don’t know. I realized that I might have been successfully schooled, but I didn’t feel well educated. When I reflect on the approximately 15,000 hours I spent in K-12 public school, I think of what a waste of time most of those hours were.
Putting Principle above Party, People, and the Past
When I put principle first, I’m better able to judge the compatibility of parties, people, and the past with what I believe in. And when my understanding of those things change, it’s easier to move on. I’m also less likely to be fooled and subsequently betrayed.
To Initiate Force Against Certain Others
“It is acceptable and/or desirable to initiate force against __________.” How one fills in that blank is one of the central components of their ideology and worldview.
From “Come and Take It” to “Go and Make It”
What if we stopped attacking people for a cause and started attracting people to a cause? What if we became creators instead of mere critics and conquerors? Rather than waging war—either figuratively (in arguing) or literally — what if we channeled all of our passion and energy into disruptive acts of creation?
Markets II
I live in a Kentucky community through which passes US Highway 127. Decades ago, folks who live along this way, from Grayling MI to Chattanooga TN, decided to have one big yard sale, from stem to stern along this road. It is a spectacle!
Tribalism and Economic Nationalism – Cut from the Same Cloth
Why would anyone underestimate the benefits of interacting with foreigners? It might be because they are, well, foreign. Combine this bias with an ignorance of Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” (spontaneous order) and a suspicion that exchange is zero-sum rather than positive-sum, and you have the making of an economic nationalist.