Imagine, if you can, a world where the Right controls most of the major cultural institutions of the country. Think Hollywood, the news, social media, education, sports, etc. Maybe you already think they do and think they should control them less. In such a case, try imagining your side wins the cultural battle and takes over these institutions, but then they are taken back by the Right. Then, imagine the Right wins a massive election and takes control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency.
Now, think about all that power. They have so much influence over…
The Freedom House research institute claims that the past fourteen years, 2005–2019, has been marked by a continuous democratic decline; that is, each year there were more countries falling to lower freedom scores than there were countries that improved. While democracies still make up a majority of the world’s nations, which wasn’t the case just a few decades ago, the consistency of this decline is worrying.
This essay will outline some theories of democratization as potential reasons for its decreasing success as well as examine case studies of particular countries to showcase the points of these theories. It will then…
With the radical left attempting to destroy most of what makes America good, political division is growing and the secession of part of the country is becoming more and more likely.
I certainly do not hope for this outcome and believe everything should be done to prevent it, but if there comes a choice between transforming America into the Orwellian dystopia of the radical left or ending the Union that has lasted for so long and survived so much, I’d have to choose the latter.
Not only do I believe this choice would be the lesser of the two evils…
These are the essays I’ve written that I believe present the best arguments on philosophical and political topics. Feel free to disagree with that assessment, and I will feel free to tell you why you’re wrong :)
Tying Philosophy to Politics
There have always been flaws in the way societies are structured, ever since societies were first structured. As a result of these pervasive imperfections, discontentment is common and from it arises ideas on how to fix the imperfections. Politics can be defined as the invention and consideration of these ideas in order to find the ones most likely to improve society, and the implementation of those that are accepted.
One method of politics is Utopianism: imagining a perfect society and then acting to try and achieve it. At first glance, this seems like an appealing type of politics as it…
In the last essay, I pointed out that cancel culture is like violence in that it can only be prevented by the threat of retaliation, and I used a quote by Philosopher Karl Popper about violence as this analogy. However, I now believe I need to include more of that quote to better convey the message I intended:
If he is willing to listen to your arguments without shooting [canceling] you, then he is at least infected by rationalism, and you may, perhaps, win him over. This is why arguing is no waste of time — as long as people…
Most people want to improve society so most people hold political beliefs that they think will best accomplish that goal. But, since most people arrive at their beliefs this way, why is there so much ugly political conflict these days?
Shouldn’t people who want to improve society be able to have a civil discussion with each other about their differing beliefs? Seemingly, if their motives are true, they’d actually welcome disagreement because they’d recognize that the only way to be sure of the most beneficial policies is to see if they withstand challenge.
In his essay “Utopia and Violence,” Philosopher…
A new development from the nationwide protests and riots surrounding the murder of George Floyd is the increased popularity of the call to ‘defund the police.’ Black Lives Matter, an organization connected with many of the protests, has adopted this slogan as well:
We call for a national defunding of police. We demand investment in our communities and the resources to ensure Black people not only survive, but thrive.
But the way BLM portrays this line actually communicates the two different interpretations of ‘defund the police,’ each of which has its own set of supporters.
Essayist, poet, screenwriter, and comer upper of weird ideas. My main focus will be on politics and philosophy but when I get bored, I’ll write something else.