Some sort of preamble and a pic
The Responsibility to Protect Probably the worst violence committed in modern times has been violence by governments against their own people. What should happen when this occurs? When should those outside the country come to the aid of people who are attacked, either by their own government or by other groups that the government is unwilling or unable to constrain? These ...
Why the ALP President should not be a serving parlimentarian At a recent meeting of ALP members a federal MP gave a report to the meeting that in order for there to be a change in ALP policy concerning treatment of asylum seekers the community would first need to be won over. I do not doubt that the report is an accurate account of the reality ...
Human enhancement technology and the horrible challenges to equality that lie ahead Throughout history the upper classes have always claimed to be entitled to their wealth on the basis of their claim that they are smarter, stronger and better than the lower classes. These claims were, and remain, largely delusions. The advantages of the upper classes are socio-political not “biological”. But with new scientific developments, the pretensions of the privileged threaten ...
Harari- Part 3, Nazi Humanists? According to Harari Nazi ideology was humanist- which is not, of course, to say that it was “humane” or humanitarian. Harari says that humanism is constituted by any ideology which holds that Homo Sapiens have a unique and sacred nature different from all other animals and that this unique nature is the most important thing in the ...
Yuval Harari- Part 2- Sapiens unique ability to gossip and to believe in things that do not exist Harari discusses how Homo Sapiens were able to move from small hunter gather societies, usually comprised of 50-100 people, to larger more complex societies. Insects live in large communities. But in inflexible ways. Homo Sapiens are unique in our ability to live in large and complex communities in flexible ways. How did this come about? How were we ...
Perfect Day View the song here.
Bein’ a Punter View the song here.
The remarkable thought of Yuval Harari- Part 1 Introduction There are many short histories of the world and histories of philosophy. Where to start? Some historians just write well without necessarily focussing on particular themes- Geoffrey Blainey is an example. Ian Morris and Jarod Diamond explore why the West developed before other parts of the world. Jarod Diamond argues for the primacy of geographical factors. He points to the large ...
China and Climate Change- the Grounds for Hope and Scepticism It is hard to do anything other than welcome the recent pledge by China and the USA, the world’s top carbon emitters, to work together to combat climate change. But in China’s case there are grounds for scepticism as well as hope. Elizabeth Economy has chronicled China’s environmental history in her 2004 book ‘The River Runs ...
Obesity Since the World Health Organisation recognised first recognised obesity as a growing health problem in 1980, no country has succeeded in reducing obesity rates. Capitalism promotes the benefits of competition. Undoubtedly there are some. But as long as there are profits to be made from it, competition among food companies will lead them to resist regulation and to develop an ...
Another Great Capitalist Innovation We all know about sub-prime home loans in the USA. Now there are sub-prime car loans- Loans to lower income earners with poor credit ratings. The loans are secured by a technological innovation. Using GPS systems to track the vehicle, lenders are now able to deactivate the vehicle remotely should payments be missed. The deactivation device is required ...
Paying the Price for Ignoring Iraq Warnings (This article is an expanded version of an article which appeared in ‘The Age’ on 2 October 2014). The idea that the Islamic State (IS) does not represent “real Islam” might be well intentioned. It is also nonsense. The IS denounces moderate Islam as not representing “real Islam”. This equally, is nonsense. There is no such thing ...
‘The Undivided Past’- Book Review Summary: David Cannadine says that people have defined themselves (and others) by applying the identities of religion, nation, class, race, gender or civilisation. But he argues these categories lead to over simplifications of the human condition and human history, because most people have multiple identities. He also argues that rather than history being made up of endless conflicts within these identities, human ...
Thomas Piketty- Some Observations Piketty’s Importance and Basic Theory Thomas Piketty’s book ‘Capital in the 21st Century’ has spurred vigorous public discussion in developed countries about the growth in inequality and what to do about it. Others have previously raised the issue of inequality. But Piketty has been hard to ignore because his book relies upon painstaking analysis of taxation and other data to make out his case regarding ...
USA: One in four young working men now earn below poverty lines wages An Economic Policy Institute report has found that: More than one in four full time employed males between the ages of 25-34 in the USA is now living below the poverty line. This means that they are employed full time on a wage of less than $11.49 US an hour. Between 1979 and 2013 the percentage of full ...