Category Archives: Politics – international

Are drugs the Achilles heel of stagnant inequality?

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Paul Frijters

[off the cuff research idea memo] There is an uncanny analogy between China in the 19th century and the US this very moment: in both cases a large part of the general population could not be persuaded away from drugs … Continue reading →

Posted in Death and taxes, Geeky Musings, Health, History, Political theory, Politics - international, Politics - national, Race and indigenous, Society | 13 Comments

Corporate Social Policy Responsibility

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Nicholas Gruen

CSR, shared value and its old establishment incarnation, pro bono work, arose from the old sense of noblesse oblige. Actually I wouldn’t have the slightest idea how it arose, but I thought I’d begin this post with a bit of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, Political theory, Politics - international | 5 Comments

Churchill’s children: the rise of the privileged Marketeers in Anglo-Land

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Paul Frijters

For almost a century the royal road to becoming a top politician in Anglo-Land was to study law and/or a bit of economics. In Australia that was the ticket for Keating, Hawke, Gillard, Howard, and Turnbull. In the US, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Geeky Musings, History, Journalism, Law, Life, Political theory, Politics - international, Social Policy, Society | 9 Comments

The framing wars: Have the elites gone off on frolics of their own unsupported by the community?

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Nicholas Gruen

Are you pro-choice or pro-life? Language like this shows us how fundamental framing has become to political combat. Political debate isn’t just ‘dumbed down’ or simplified. There’s a geography to the ground on which it’s fought and those with an … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Economics and public policy, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - international, Sortition and citizens’ juries | 16 Comments

Why we should fear a world Empire

Posted on November 23, 2019 by Paul Frijters

Universalists dream of a world empire in which a world government works to solve global problems, enforcing the same law all over the world. There are many different ideologies that envision a world government, ranging from international socialism, to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, History, Philosophy, Politics - international, Politics - national, Society | 27 Comments

Is it the duty of the state to police a positive national history story?

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Paul Frijters

Something very odd happens when people get told a story of how other people with some shared characteristic have behaved in the past: they take it personal and see themselves in those ‘ancestors’, even if they share no actual family … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, Geeky Musings, History, Politics - international, Politics - national, Religion, Society | 18 Comments

Is Trump a blessing in disguise for world peace?

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Paul Frijters

Let’s first agree that if Trump is a blessing in disguise for world peace, he makes an exceptionally good disguise. Trump’s bark is probably the worst of any US president in living memory. He has threatened the total destruction of … Continue reading →

Posted in Death and taxes, Environment, Geeky Musings, History, Humour, Immigration and refugees, Politics - international, Society | 13 Comments