By one who still believes in grace… There is no word more profaned in modern discourse than “community.” It is whispered like a prayer in marketing campaigns, wielded like a sword in political speeches, and printed in cheerful fonts on newsletters that no one reads. Yet behind this hollow repetition…
Category: Finance and Economy
Exploring everything financial and alternative finance
Redefining the Human Role in the Post-Labor Economy: Embracing a New Future
As we move into a time of unprecedented technological advancement, the nature of work is undergoing a radical transformation. Automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly capable of performing tasks once reserved for humans – an Amazon warehouse may be the canary in the coal mine on this issue…
“The Sources of Social Power” by Michael Mann – a review
Few books attempt to chart the fundamental structures of human civilization—and fewer still do so with the depth, breadth, and intellectual rigor found in Michael Mann’s The Sources of Social Power. Published in four volumes over the span of three decades, Mann’s magnum opus is not a breezy read. It…
“No More Throw-Away People: The Co-Production Imperative,” by Edgar S. Cahn – a review
In “No More Throw-Away People: The Co-Production Imperative,” Edgar S. Cahn, a distinguished legal scholar and social innovator, introduces a transformative approach to social services and community engagement through the concept of “co-production.” This concept challenges traditional service delivery models by positioning recipients as active partners rather than passive beneficiaries,…
How We Do and Should Value a Person
How do we value a person? How should we value a person? The first question concerns what is, the second what ought to be. But to ask them together suggests a hidden third: what is our duty in the face of this question? It is not enough to analyze. The…
Will We Come Together Again?
The Great Depression taught Americans many things, but one lesson really stands out, not in the numbers or charts, but in the stories that passed from grandparents to grandchildren around dinner tables and porches. It’s the story of people who had very little, and yet gave anyway; of soup kitchens…
The Weight of Too Much
No one complains about having enough. Enough food, enough money, enough security; these are the markers of a good life. But what happens when “enough” turns into too much? When abundance, instead of liberating us, traps us? We don’t often think of excess as a burden. If anything, modern consumer…
“Techno-feudalism: What Killed Capitalism,” by Yanis Varoufakis – a review
In “Techno-feudalism: What Killed Capitalism,” Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek finance minister and renowned economist, presents a head-turning thesis: capitalism, as we have known it, is dead, replaced by a more insidious system he terms “techno-feudalism.” In this new order, technological behemoths have assumed the role of feudal lords, wielding…
The Lonely Crowd and White Collar: A Mirror to the American Soul
David Riesman’s The Lonely Crowd and C. Wright Mills’ White Collar sit on the shelf like a pair of old photographs—faded, perhaps, but still revealing. They capture America at a moment when the country had stepped into its new postwar prosperity, blinking at the bright lights of mass media, corporate…
Why Economic Collapse Might Be Just What We Need to Survive – Long-Term
Economic collapse is a phrase that brings to mind images of breadlines, shuttered factories, and desperate faces. It is spoken of as a catastrophe, a specter that must be avoided at all costs. But history has shown that collapse, while painful, is often the necessary breaking point before something better…