Learning From History, If We Dare
The role and success of governance and institutions in facing and meeting the challenges of the past unlock a treasure trove of information that just may guide us toward better futures.
Society featured
What is good activism?
I had a letter from a young reader last week, asking what I thought about concrete steps that we might be taking in place of what passes for activism in our present culture.
Some thoughts on governance of the local variety
So let’s make Vermont everywhere. And Brooklyn. And Albuquerque. Let’s occupy our own lives wherever we are. And maybe, when we stop supporting the overburden, we can all work out how to build that hearth.
How the U.S. moved from continental to global empire
When confronted with a choice between building a society based on communitarian values or expanding to dodge the difficulties that would have entailed, the U.S. consistently chose imperial expansion.
TaIkin’ Bout a Revolution
Before we can spark a revolution we’re going to have to have a conversation about revolution, the dangerous, explosive word! And ours explodes with flowers and hugs!
Elites, political disintegration, and ‘cliodynamics’
In his recent book End Times, Peter Turchin tries to lay out his story about social, political, and economic change for a popular audience.
Autonomous chaos: Self-driving vehicles block emergency services
Autonomous vehicles are touted as safer than vehicles driven by humans. Turns out there are some dangerous glitches.
Archaeology Is Flipping the Script on What We Know About Ancient Mesoamerica
Recent archaeology emerging from ancient Mesoamerica is flipping the script of public understanding about the people and institutions that inhabited this world: the evidence tells us that cooperative and pluralistic government was at least as common as and more resilient than despotic states.
Building Thriving Communities: Making a Shift toward Relational and Restorative Care
For almost 50 years, Beth Mount has worked towards the ideal that every person with a disability can be a valued member of community life, promoting the positive futures and potentials of people with disabilities throughout the world who are together working to create more inclusive communities.
Coming to Our Animal Senses: A Conversation with David Abram
Given the ubiquitous nature of this animistic intuition among the diverse indigenous peoples of this planet – given its commonality among so many exceedingly diverse and divergent cultures – it would seem that this is our birthright as humans.
Why we choose narcissists as leaders
Both Trump and Johnson are notorious narcissists, and I am wondering what it is about our current politics that means that the qualities of narcissism are so rewarded by the electorate.
Whitman’s Redwoods
i bow
to James Stephens who once did chant
the first and last duty of humankind:
to dance.
