Why the West? I do not think there is any other historical controversy that has so enthralled the public intellectuals of our age. The popularity of the question can probably be traced to Western unease with a rising China and the ease with which the issue can be used as proxy war for the much […]
A collection of articles, essays, and blog post of merit. TOP BILLING “How To Lose a War: A Primer“Mark Safranski. Zenpundit.com. 28 July 2013. Since Pakistan is now attempting to get its victory over the United States in Afghanistan formally ratified, now seemed to be a good time to reflect on the performance of American […]
Why does the Chinese public support the Communist Party of China? Many assert that the Chinese government retains its legitimacy through high growth rates. Few stop to consider what evidence supports the contention. Truth be told, there is not much. The Chinese people like to bargain. I have heard Chinese call bargaining an art; others […]
Early last month Peter Turchin published a couple of posts on whether or not the “Great Divergence” (sometimes called the ‘Rise of the West’ or ‘the European Miracle’) can be approached scientifically. Both posts were excellent, and as is usual at Professor Turchin’s place, the comment thread that followed the posts was of exceptional quality. […]
Image Source “When one seeks imperial power, there is no mean between the heights and the abyss.” –Tacitus, The Histories, Book 2.74 The American dream is dead. Matthew O’Brien thinks he knows why: “RIP, American Dream? Why It’s So Hard For the Poor to Get Ahead Today“Matthew O’Brien. The Atlantic. 18 June 2013. It is […]
This video is worth your time. It is long. But it is worth your time. Murray & Putnam: Is Class Division Tearing U.S. Apart? from The Aspen Institute 2012e– and The Atlantic on FORA.tv A longer post on similar themes is in the works. Until that post is completed this is an excellent place to […]
In “Notes on the Dynamics of Human Civilization: the Growth Revolution” and “A Flawed Comparison: Inequality, Ancient and Modern” I contended that the process through which premodern societies and individuals acquired their riches is fundamentally different from the way fortunes are created and acquired today. An interesting example is provided by the Song Dynasty and […]
A collection of articles, essays, and blog post of merit. This collection is a large one. TOP BILLING Our Internet Surveillance StateBruce Schneier. Schneier on Security. 25 March 2013. The Internet is a surveillance state. Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, and whether we like it or not, we’re being tracked all the […]
In a recent post discussing what we know about energy consumption and economic growth in post-recession America, I wrote something that is not true: “History has shown that increases in energy efficiency lead to more energy consumption, not less.” [1] I will repeat: I made a mistake. I will take this opportunity to explain both […]
Two informative videos about the “largest housing bubble in history.” The first is a CBS 60 Minutes investigative report that focuses on the “what” and “why” of the bubble. The second is a Financial Times interview with Zhang Xin, a Chinese real estate mogul, who focuses her remarks of the Chinese government’s response to the […]
