There is something deeply satisfying about owning less. Ask anyone who has cleared out a closet and felt that rush of liberation, that sense of moral superiority over the clutter. The minimalist movement has turned this feeling into a philosophy, a lifestyle brand, and ironically, a very profitable publishing niche. Declutter your home. Simplify your […]
Keynes vs. The Minimalists: Why Consumption is a Moral Duty Read More »
You probably believe that when you speak, you are transmitting your thoughts to another person. That words are little vehicles carrying meaning from your mind to theirs. That language is, at its core, a window into what you are thinking. Willard Van Orman Quine spent most of the twentieth century explaining why that belief is
There is a philosopher most people have never heard of who might explain the modern economy better than any economist alive. His name is Willard Van Orman Quine, and he never wrote a single word about oil prices, inflation, or supply chains. He wrote about language, logic, and the strange architecture of human belief. Yet
The Web of Value: How Changing the Price of Oil Changes the Meaning of Everything Else Read More »
There is a particular kind of courage that most people claim to have but almost nobody actually demonstrates. It is the courage to defend speech you find revolting. Not speech you agree with. Not speech that makes you feel warm and enlightened. The other kind. The kind that makes your stomach turn. John Stuart Mill
The Case for Offensive Speech: Why We Need “Hate” to Find the Truth Read More »
You have probably been told, at some point in your life, that you should be well rounded. Read widely. Learn to code and to cook. Pick up a language. Play an instrument. Get comfortable with public speaking. Maybe even start a podcast. The advice sounds reasonable. It even sounds noble. After all, Leonardo da Vinci
Stop Being “Good” at Everything: The Economic Cost of the Renaissance Man Read More »
Marcus Tullius Cicero was, by almost every measure that mattered to him, the smartest person in the room. He could dismantle an argument the way a surgeon removes a tumor. He wrote philosophy that people still read two thousand years later. He saved the Roman Republic from a conspiracy and then made sure absolutely everyone
Cicero Trap: Why Intelligent People Often Have Zero Political Instinct Read More »
There is a strange new sin spreading through universities, corporate boardrooms, and social media feeds. It is not violence. It is not hatred. It is not even rudeness. The sin is thinking clearly. Somewhere in the last two decades, logic became offensive. Not just unpopular or unfashionable, but genuinely threatening. To ask someone for evidence
Why Logic Is Now Considered a “Micro-Aggression” Read More »
Let us begin with a thought experiment. Imagine two countries. One is blessed with fertile soil, deep harbors, vast forests, and mineral deposits that glitter under every hillside. The other has rocks. Just rocks and some stubborn grass and a population with strong opinions about cheese. Common sense says the first country dominates trade. It
Why a Country With No Resources Can Still Win at Trade Read More »
Every revolution begins with a promise. The old guard will be swept away. The corrupt will be punished. Power will return to the people. And for a brief, intoxicating moment, it looks like it might actually happen. Then something familiar settles in. New faces appear at the top. They wear different clothes, use different slogans,
The Circulation of Elites: Why Revolutions Never Actually Change Anything Read More »
There is a certain kind of idea that makes people uncomfortable not because it is wrong, but because it might be right. Samuel Huntington’s claim that human rights discourse often functions as a vehicle for Western geopolitical interests is one of those ideas. It sits in the intellectual living room like an uninvited guest who
Why Human Rights Is Often Just Code for “Western Interests” Read More »