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 »
There is a comfortable story we tell ourselves about the Enlightenment. It goes something like this: brave thinkers stood up against kings and priests, championed the common people, and lit the fuse that would eventually explode into democracy. Voltaire sits near the center of this story, usually holding a quill and looking defiant. The problem
Against “The People”: Why Voltaire Feared the Mob More Than the Monarch Read More »
There is a particular kind of genius that does not get celebrated enough. It is not the genius of discovery. It is the genius of naming. Before Auguste Comte came along in the early nineteenth century, people had been thinking about society for thousands of years. Aristotle did it. Montesquieu did it. Ibn Khaldun did
He Named the Field: Why Auguste Comte Is the True MVP of Social Science Read More »
Voltaire never actually said “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” That line was written by his biographer, Evelyn Beatrice Hall, summarizing his attitude. Which is fitting, really. We live in an age where misattributed quotes travel faster than verified ones, and where the
The Holy War of Words: Is Political Correctness the New Inquisition? Read More »
There is a certain comfort in watching diplomats sign documents. The pens are expensive. The tables are long and polished. Everyone wears serious faces and shakes hands for the cameras. And then, somewhere between the champagne toast and the morning news cycle, the document starts to decay. Not physically. Physically it will be preserved in
Blood, Not Ink: Why Treaties Are Only as Strong as the Army Behind Them Read More »
There is a particular kind of person who wakes up every morning burdened by the weight of problems that are not theirs. They scroll through the news, absorb the suffering of strangers in distant countries, and feel personally responsible for fixing all of it. They post about injustice. They sign petitions. They argue at dinner
Stop Trying to Save the World: The Radical Ethics of Minding Your Own Business Read More »
Your boss has probably never read a single page of Das Kapital. They might not even know the difference between Marx and Engels. But they hate Karl Marx. Not the person, necessarily. They hate what he represents. They hate the questions he asked, because those questions have a nasty habit of making the answers uncomfortable.
The modern state has an appetite. It consumes revenue the way a growing organism consumes nutrients, always requiring more to sustain its expanding functions. We accept this as normal, even inevitable. But Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, writing in eighteenth-century France, saw something different when he looked at heavy taxation. He saw the slow
Taxation as Tyranny: Montesquieu’s Argument for a Frugal Republic Read More »
Every time you scroll through a feed, tap “accept” on a cookie banner, or type a search query, you are producing something. You are generating data. Clicks, locations, preferences, habits, relationships, fears, desires. All of it captured, stored, processed, and sold. The question nobody seems to settle is whether any of that belongs to you.
Is Your Data Your Property? The 300 Year Old Answer from John Locke Read More »
Max Weber died in 1920, which means he never had to spend forty minutes on hold with his insurance company, only to be transferred three times and then disconnected. He never filled out forms in triplicate. He never received an email asking him to complete a survey about his experience filling out a form. And
The Bureaucracy Diet: How to Survive a World Built on Red Tape Read More »