Concealed effort
Modern society conceals effort. Its vital structures – agriculture, freight transport, energy production, city planning – are invisible to us. Its interfaces – malls, shops, call centers, websites – dispense …
Category: Politics
Why I don’t hate capitalism
Like most progressive youths, I had an anti-capitalist awakening. With a nudge or two to the left from more educated friends, I understood just how ruthless the modern world is. …
Good and bad gatekeeping
Gatekeeping is the practice of inventing additional criteria for a label. Think “you’re not a true metalhead if you don’t like Maiden”, or “you’re not really a parent if your …
Models of good and evil
I believe in moral non-objectivism, meaning that I don’t see good and evil as independent virtues. As far as I’m concerned, they only exist in our minds, and it’s their …
Three types of labels
We self-apply all sorts of labels. Conservative. Atheist. Lesbian. Asian. Enby. And thousands more. But this wealth of definitions can be a contentious affair. People don’t always agree on what …
Big business and you
How can megacorporations be so evil? Why do they deceive and exploit us so? Why are they destroying the paradise that is Earth before our eyes? These questions can be …
Work
I used to think city-dwelling animals were funny. I laughed tenderly at the pigeons nesting in the rafters of City Hall, at how little they knew. They have no idea …
Conservatism is a feeling.
You have it too. Even if you don’t subscribe to the political philosophy that shares its name, I suspect that you feel the desire, the urge to conserve the surroundings …
Identity, then and now
Twenty years ago, it was cool to be laid-back about identity. “Some people are white, some are black. Some are straight, and some gay. Let’s not make a big deal …
Intellectual civilians
Most of us know that human-made climate change is real. But how do we know? We’re not out there, measuring ice caps or CO2 levels; most of us don’t even …