- David Graeber’s poor grasp of economics Scott Sumner, EconLog
- Is capitalism a threat to democracy? Caleb Crain, New Yorker
- When did we start talking about life from elsewhere? Caleb Scharf, Scientific American
- Russia or California? Conservatives in 2020 John Quiggin, Crooked Timber
Follow Hong Kong’s district election
Today is a big day for Hong Kong, as the people are voting for their district representatives. Never before has there been such a high voter turnout: 71.2%. I haven’t found any English website that allows you to follow the results live, so here is a Chinese website: https://dce2019.thestandnews.com/
Yellow is the pro-democracy camp and red is the pro-establishment (pro-Beijing) camp. As of this writing, some results have come in already and the pro-democracy camp is far ahead having occupied more than 90% of the seats (45 against 4).
This is the first stage of the 2019-2020 election cycle. The election will fill 452 seats on Hong Kong’s 18 District Councils. Next year, there will be elections for the territory-wide Legislative Council.
Sunday Poetry: Adorno about traffic lights
I hate the Frankfurt School. Even more, I hate Theodor W. Adorno. Apart from his atrocious Sociology (I think his philosophy is ridiculous too, but I have not dealt with it in depth yet), he had a very bizarre opinion on Jazz.
However, he seemed to be a heavy fan of traffic lights. In 1962 he wrote the following words to the local newspaper:
“When crossing the Senckenberg plant, near the corner of Dantestraße, one of our secretaries was run over and seriously injured after a passerby had been killed in an accident at the same place a few days earlier. On the way to university, one has to run across the street in an unworthy way, as if one was running for his life. If a student, or a professor, is in the state that is actually appropriate for him, namely in his mind, then the threat of death is immediately prevalent.”
In consequence of his rant, albeit 25 years later, the city built the now-famous Adorno-Ampel in Frankfurt near his faculty. Kind of lovely anecdote.
I wish you all pleasant Sunday.
Nightcap
- The grand folly of the Eurozone Ashoka Mody, spiked!
- Defending the nation Angelo Codevilla, Claremont Review of Books
- State-building in the Middle East Lisa Blaydes, ARPS
- The Trump Doctrine Michael Anton, Foreign Policy
A libertarian response to “OK Boomer”
No, not from me (I’m at home with the flu). Nick has a great post up on the topic. Vincent does, too. Jacques, a boomer himself, has a post up on American demographics. All three are well worth your time.
As is this short piece by Rick.
Nightcap
- Ownership and productivity in a capitalist society Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling
- Provincial cosmopolitanism Nikki Usher, Cato Unbound
- China’s “bottom-up” cities (best essay on China this year) Bruno Maçães, City Journal
- The Democrats and their favorite mouthpiece Irfan Khawaja, Policy of Truth
Nightcap
- How neoliberal thinkers spawned monsters they never imagined Wendy Brown (interview), INET
- Singapore’s thriving shadow education industry Sun Sun Lim, OUPblog
- The unraveling of Sino-Japanese relations Richard McGregor, History Today
- There is no end to history, no perfect existence Ludwig von Mises, Mises Institute
Nightcap
- The state of American alliances in Asia Panda & Parameswaran, Diplomat
- India’s new dark age Shikha Dalmia, the Week
- On the socialist revival in the United States John Judis, American Affairs
- Holocaust art and the temptation to pigeonhole Simon Schama, Financial Times
Nightcap
- Police tailgating and entrapment Irfan Khawaja, Policy of Truth
- Singapore’s military elite Francis Sempa, Asian Review of Books
- Bill Barr, the man from the 1980s Ross Douthat, New York Times
- Open borders and hive minds (NIMBY) Bryan Caplan, EconLog
Nightcap
- The GOP as a decent party of privilege Andrew Sabl, Open Society
- The wider implications of Israel’s strike at Islamic Jihad Michael Koplow, Ottomans & Zionists
- ‘China’ is not really ‘China’ at all, but the Qing Empire Charles Horner, Claremont Review of Books
- Wittgenstein’s family letters Jonathan Rée, London Review of Books (but no mention of Hayek)
Nightcap
- What really happened at Troy? Daisy Dunn, Spectator
- How Britain disrespected its WWI soldiers from Africa David Lammy, Guardian
- Here’s why we can’t have nice things Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling
- On being edited by Barack Obama Adam Frankel, Literary Hub
Hong Kong Police storm Polytechnic University of Hong Kong: a selection of news articles
《BBC》
//Those who remain seem determined to fight to the end, no matter the risk.//
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-50452277
《Financial Times》
//“Everyone is exhausted and [when] someone wants to leave, they can’t. There are even kids that are 11, 12 years old,” said a social worker trapped in the campus//
《The Guardian》
//“Those people on the front, they are putting their lives on the line to fight for what they believe … they are doing it for all of us.” – Calvin See, 27//
《The New York Times》
//“They were all in good spirits,” he said. “They were not being deterred. They were ready to be arrested. They said, ‘We stand for freedom, dignity, democracy, human rights.’ They said they were staying.” – The pastor, William Devlin//
《Washington Post》
//“Carrie Lam’s murderous regime has resorted to brutality, which makes Hong Kong become a state of savage existence and astonishes the international communities,” he said in a statement early Monday.//
《The Times》
//“We’re fighting for our rights: we’re fighting for freedom of expression,” said a woman aged 25 who identified herself only as Mary-Jane. //
《Al Jazeera》
//”The Hong Kong government has all along decided to treat this as a law-and-order matter and has had no willingness to negotiate or talk or listen in any serious way to the demands of the protesters. At the end of the day, there has to be some kind of political solution,” Roderic Wye told Al Jazeera.//
《CNN》
//”If we don’t come out, no one will come out and protect our freedoms. Polytechnic University is my home,” – A 23-year-old protester and Polytechnic University alumnus//
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/17/asia/hong-kong-protests-november-17-intl-hnk/index.html
Sunday Poetry: Rilke’s “Autumn Day”
It has been a more than stressful week. To indulge in Rilke’s dreamy thoughts is not only a perfect stress-relief but also a chance to reminisce about the most beautiful moments of this autumn.
Rainer Maria Rilke – Autumn Day
“Lord: it is time. Great was the summer’s feast.
Now lay upon the sun-dials your shadow
And on the meadows have the winds released
Command the last fruits to round their shapes;
Grant two more days of south for vines to carry,
to their perfection thrust them on, and harry
the final sweetness into heavy grapes.
Who has not built his house, will not start now.
Who is now by himself will long be so,
Be wakeful, read, write lengthy letters, go
In vague disquiet pacing up and down
Denuded lanes, with leaves adrift below.”
I wish you all a pleasant Sunday.
Nightcap
- “Don’t read that, he is a fascist.” Pierre Lemieux, EconLog
- Trump against the professionals Ross Douthat, New York Times
- What John Rawls missed Jedediah Britton-Purdy, New Republic
- What is a “well regulated militia,” anyway? Brian Doherty, Reason
130 years of Republic in Brazil
Yesterday Brazil celebrated 130 years of Republic. It might be a personal impression but it seems to me that there is growing support for monarchy among conservatives. It’s very funny.
Brazil was initially a monarchy. Dom Pedro I, the prince regent of Portugal, declared Brazil’s independence from his father’s country in 1822. But he had to go back to Portugal less than 10 years later, leaving his son, Dom Pedro II, in Brazil. Dom Pedro II was too young to govern, and the 1830s were a mess in Brazil. When he effectively became emperor, things got much better.
Dom Pedro II ruled Brazil for about 50 years. To my knowledge, he was a wise man, genuinely concerned about Brazil. The 1824 Constitution was fairly liberal, and so were the emperors. Centrally, Dom Pedro II wanted to abolish slavery, but he was going against Brazilian elites on this. It’s not a coincidence that slavery was abolished in 1888 and the monarchy fell in the next year.
To my knowledge, Brazil had two good emperors and the constitution that ruled the country at that time was mostly good. However, Brazil was extremely oligarchal, and there was little that the emperors could do about that. I believe that Dom Pedro II was a wise and patient man, who slowly did the reforms the country needed.
I don’t know if Dom Pedro II’s daughter, Isabel, would have been a good empress. But I know that Dom Pedro II himself didn’t offer resistance when some republicans changed the regime. He peacefully went to exile in Europe. Dom Pedro manifested on some occasions that he was a republican. Maybe he was being ironic. Maybe not. In any case, I believe that he was glad to see the country coming to age, and being able to take care of itself without an emperor.
The first 40 years of Republic were not too bad. They were not perfect either! Slavery didn’t make a comeback. The republican constitution was written after the American one. The economy was mostly free, was it not so from the fact that coffee oligarchies ruled things to benefit their business. Things got really bad when the horrendous dictator Getúlio Vargas came to power in 1930.
I think there is something funny in the way some conservatives miss the monarchy. It wasn’t too bad. But it was also a time when Brazil suffered a lot under slavery and oligarchy. I’m certainly not sure if the monarchy was the best antidote to that.
Notes On Liberty 