It takes a concerted effort and a persistent willingness to suspend disbelief to be a life-long libertarian-socialist (and its closely-related Marxist variants). Most people outgrow it by their late 20’s upon learning that Marxism is far more violent, ruthless, and just all-around awful than the capitalism it is supposed to replace. Libertarian-socialism is predicated on… Continue reading Debunking Libertarian-Socialist Nonsense
Month: July 2016
‘Culture Wars’ give way to ‘Shared Narratives’
As I explain in The Genius of Ross Douthat, partisanship and ‘culture wars’ have given way to ‘shared narratives and themes’ (existential matters, the economy, anxiety, distrust of elites, etc.) that cross the political aisle. This was especially evident during the 2016 GOP convention, where in his well-received speech Peter Thiel openly proclaimed being gay… Continue reading ‘Culture Wars’ give way to ‘Shared Narratives’
Why So Many Millennials Are Struggling
From The Daily Dot: The real reason young people are the poorest generation in 25 years The kids are not all right. As the millennial generation starts to reach its 30s, many of these ‘80s and ‘90s kids are having kids of their own, and recent surveys show one in five millennial parents is living… Continue reading Why So Many Millennials Are Struggling
The Genius of Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat may be the most talented columnist alive, and by perusing some of his most recent articles, for instructional purposes, we can get a better understanding of his style and why it’s so effective. When reading a Douthat column, typically the first paragraph sets the scene, almost like a panorama, giving a bird’s-eye view… Continue reading The Genius of Ross Douthat
Post-2008 Wealth Creation: A Guide, Part 5
Edit: Part 3 contained a mistake in the integration that has been fixed Part 4 discusses the allocation and the past performance of the strategy. In the fifth and final section, I’ll show how to place the orders. To recap, the the method involves using 50% of the capital to short TMV and the other… Continue reading Post-2008 Wealth Creation: A Guide, Part 5
RE: History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump
Interesting article: History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump This passage stood out: Indeed, many takes on the effects of the Black Death are that it had a positive impact in the long term. Well summed up here: “By targeting frail people of all ages, and killing them by the hundreds… Continue reading RE: History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump
Peter Thiel
There has been a lot of discussion about Peter Thiel in light of his speech at the RNC. This tweet about Thiel possibly being an ally of ‘neoreaction’ (NRX) also went slightly viral: Why @peterthiel's endorsement of Trump actually makes perfect sense: pic.twitter.com/qd7z8CZufW — Samuel Hammond (@hamandcheese) July 22, 2016 Thiel’s popularity could be part… Continue reading Peter Thiel
How it’s Possible for the US Economy to Be Strong Even if Many are Not Fully Participating
Republicans Need To Chill: Life In The United States Is Really Good On A Historical Perspective With the exception of his obvious partisan jab against republicans, he’s right about the economy and America, but with some caveats. It’s worth keeping in mind that, until 2008 or so, the GOP was the party of economic optimism… Continue reading How it’s Possible for the US Economy to Be Strong Even if Many are Not Fully Participating
Ross Douthat Having a Meltdown on Twitter
Ross Douthat is having a pubic meltdown over Trump, frenetically posting dozens of tweets in the span of just 24 hours…in 2008, it was ‘Palin derangement syndrome’ for the ‘left’…now it’s ‘Trump derangement syndrome’ for some of the ‘right’. Here are some of them: Y'all miss the old theocratic GOP of 2004 yet? — Ross… Continue reading Ross Douthat Having a Meltdown on Twitter
Artificial Intelligence…or Just Software?
AI holds a lot of promise, that may never be realized or live up to its hype. And then there is always the demarcation problem of what separates an actual intelligence from merely an advanced software program (Chinese Room thought experiment). A lot of things that may be classified as AI are merely productivity-enhancing software.… Continue reading Artificial Intelligence…or Just Software?