The Future Is Ours: A Short Dissection of Accelerationisms, Left, Right, and Center

In modern usage, the term “accelerationism” is claimed by far-right groups as a philosophy of destabilizing society to bring about a more authoritarian and conservative future. However, soi-disant accelerationists have no monopoly on accelerationist ideas. That is to say that the perspective of “acceleration” of society through stages is neither new nor confined to the … Continue reading The Future Is Ours: A Short Dissection of Accelerationisms, Left, Right, and Center →

Diplomacy on the Moral Battlefield

Of Myopic Postmodernism and Memetic Syncretism A fundamental problem exacerbating the acerbic tone of the culture wars across the West is that in online debates on social media platforms there are no mechanisms to incentivize the voicing of support and agreement. In order to make friends and preserve relationships in our personal lives, it is … Continue reading Diplomacy on the Moral Battlefield →

If you’re eating locally for environmental reasons, you’re doing it wrong

If you’re eating locally for ecological reasons, you’re doing it wrong. If we’re talking about the economic and cultural benefit to local producers and sellers, that is another story. But ecologically, since transport makes up a negligible part of the ecological impact of food (see the chart below), it is better to make use of … Continue reading If you’re eating locally for environmental reasons, you’re doing it wrong →

Mask Mandates Violate Our Rights. I Support Them Anyway.

States of Exception are Exceptions, and Karens are a Necessary Evil As local governments and federal agencies around the US struggle with the contentious question of mask-wearing and the closures of non-essential businesses and venues, it is worthwhile to consider the question of the extent to which these measures violate our rights of freedom of … Continue reading Mask Mandates Violate Our Rights. I Support Them Anyway. →

Alex Tabarrok on “Is Democracy Doomed?”

Marginal Revolution has an interesting discussion on the question here. A highlight: if the average nondemocracy in their sample had transitioned to a democracy its GDP per capita would have increased from $2074 to $2489 in 25 years [...] If we want countries to adopt democracy, twenty percent higher GDP in 25 years is not … Continue reading Alex Tabarrok on “Is Democracy Doomed?” →

An Economic Policy Film Review: “Default”

I recently had the opportunity to watch the Korean film "Default" (Gukgabudo-ui Nal) (2018). The film models itself quite transparently on "The Big Short" (2015), aiming to be a behind-the-scenes tell-all about the lead-up to the Korean chapter of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. To the extent that I knew far too little about this … Continue reading An Economic Policy Film Review: “Default” →