- Tianxia: a philosophy for world governance Salvatore Babones, Asian Review of Books
- Imperialism or federalism? Round Two Notes On Liberty
- A new history of the United States Julio Ortega, New York Times
- Postmodern politics Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling
Author: Brandon Christensen
Nightcap
- The intellectual distrust of democracy Jacob Levy, Niskanen
- Leave John Locke in the dustbin of history John Quiggin, Jacobin
- In defense of neoliberalism William Easterly, Boston Review
- The predated mind (our animal origins) Nick Nielsen, Grand Strategy Annex
Nightcap
- Austin City Limits Kevin Williamson, Claremont Review of Books
- Boredom and the British Empire Erik Linstrum, History Today
- The little-known war crime in Tokyo Hiroaki Sato, Japan Times
- China’s “Hundred Schools of Thought” Ian Johnson, ChinaFile
RCH: “10 Worst Space Disasters in History”
My latest at RealClearHistory:
When I think about space disasters, I am reminded of the space battle between Earth and Trisolaris in Liu Cixin’s fantastic sci-fi novel. Stay with me here. Liu Cixin’s Dark Forest novel needs to be read. In the novel, humans make contact with a nearby alien civilization, who proceed to make plans to invade earth, wipe out its human population, and re-populate it with themselves. The first battle between Earth’s space forces and the would-be invaders ends badly for Earth, as thousands of space warships are destroyed in a matter minutes by a Trisolaran probe. The novel brings up an uncomfortable theory that humans have been all-too-willing to neglect: what if the universe is a hostile, deadly place instead of a curious one?
Please, read the rest.
Nightcap
- Richard Rorty’s political turn Alan Malachowski, Aeon
- Empathy in political discourse Zak Woodman, NOL
- Stuck between Berlin and Moscow Iulia-Sabina Joja, American Interest
- Stuck between Berlin and Paris Posaner, Gurzu, and Tamma, Politico EU
Nightcap
- The street gangs of Weimar Berlin Marilyn Macron, Los Angeles Review of Books
- The road to compromise (LGBT and religion) Mark David Hall, Law & Liberty
- Angels through the ages Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Spectator
- France and Africa Dave Glovsky, Africa is a Country
Afternoon Tea: Minerva or Pallas Athena (1898)
From my main man Gustav Klimt.
Nightcap
- The Left has a culture problem Ross Douthat, New York Times
- The transformation of left-neoliberalism Henry Farrell, Crooked Timber
- Shrove Tuesday miscellany Nicholas in Faith, All Along the Watchtower
- The future of Europe is Dutch Adam Bartha, IEA
RCH: The secession of Texas from Mexico
My latest at RealClearHistory deals with Texas and its secession from Mexico. An excerpt:
There are other similarities, too, starting with the fact that Texas was not the only state in Mexico to try and secede from Mexico City. The self-declared republics of Rio Grande, Zacatecas, and Yucután also asserted their independence from Mexico, though Texas was the only state to actually succeed in its rebellion. Unlike the 13 North American states attempting to secede from the British Empire, the Mexican provinces did not band together to form a united front against a common enemy.
Texas itself was the northern part of a larger state called Coahuila y Tejas. When Mexico originally seceded from Spain, Coahuila y Tejas joined the new republic as its poorest, most sparsely populated member state. In addition to economic and demographic problems, Coahuila y Tejas shared a border with the Comanche and Apache Indians, who in the 1820s were still powerful players in regional geopolitics. Life in Coahuila y Tejas was nasty, brutal, and short.
Please, read the rest.
Nightcap
- Economics after neoliberalism (Hayek) Corey Robin, Boston Review
- Should some countries cease to exist? Branko Milanovic, globalinequality
- Consider reparations Robin Hanson, Overcoming Bias
- (Legal) immigration into the United States Jacques Delacroix, NOL
Afternoon Tea: The Scapegoat (1854)
Man, I like this one. It was painted by William Holman Hunt, an English painter. Hunt belonged to a school of art that called itself the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Here is a wiki on the Brotherhood.
Nightcap
- VS Naipaul and the Third Worlders Fred Siegel, City Journal
- Book of Genesis: Islam versus Christianity Tyler Cowen, MarginalRevolution
- Brexit forever Helen Thompson, History Today
- What happened to the “Factory of West Africa”? Emiliano Travieso, Decompressing History
An optimist turns pessimistic
I won an essay contest back in my undergraduate days for an essay on optimism. I understand that poverty worldwide is on the run. I understand that none of us have suffered through a devastating worldwide war like most of our ancestors did. In many ways, we have it good.
But Donald Trump is still President of the United States of America. I still remember waking up to the news that he had beat Hillary Clinton. It was surreal (it didn’t help that I was living Austin, where everything is a bit foggier, brain-wise).
Unlike Jacques, who seems to be so in love with Trump that he would get down on his knees and do whatever Trump wanted him to do, I don’t like Donald Trump. I don’t think he’s done a good job. I don’t even care that the left-leaning press is dishonest when it comes to reporting on his administration. I think this is the difference between libertarians like me, who lean more to the left, and libertarians like Jacques and Bruno, who lean more to the right.
Jacques and Bruno are not really defending the Trump and Bolsonaro administrations. And they’re not really speaking up for these two administrations because they hate leftists more than they like liberty. Guys like Jacques and Bruno care more about Truth than anything else, and the global mainstream media’s narrative skews left and is often dishonest.
Me? I’ve grown accustomed to dishonesty in media. I’ve also grown accustomed to ignorance. I pick and choose which dishonest or ignorant bits I want to challenge. When journalists write or say something about guys like Trump or Bolsonaro that are blatantly wrong, I make a mental note of the dishonest nature of the reporting, but that’s about it. Guys like Trump and Bolsonaro are bad for liberty, after all. I’d rather focus on the mainstream press’ dishonesty when it comes to people like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. The fawning over her is at least as concerning as the dishonest portrayals of Trump or Bolsonaro.
Left-wing populism is just as bad as right-wing populism, and everybody in the democratic world is going to be stuck with populism for quite awhile. Truth is on its way out the door, and I don’t know if it’ll be back in my lifetime.
Nightcap
- Free speech for me but not for thee Michael Koplow, Ottomans & Zionists
- Religious freedom in the Islamic world Daniel Philpott, Volokh Conspiracy
- Religious and other freedoms James Robinson, Cato Unbound
- Why we need analytical Marxism Chris Dillow Stumbling & Mumbling
RCH: Iraq, then and now
Folks, I’m still plugging away at RealClearHistory. This week’s focus was on Iraq. Here’s the link to my Tuesday column. And here’s the link to my weekend column. I’m not going to spoil anything. Just read ’em already!
Notes On Liberty 