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…
Category: Making Money
Interesting ways to make money
“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 that…
Flotsam; the remains of a shipwrecked life
The sea does not care. It takes what it wants and leaves the rest to drift. A man can build something strong, something that holds against the wind and the waves, but one good storm can take it all away. Then he is left with what floats—broken beams, a splintered…
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…
From Self-Sufficiency to Community-Sufficiency: Rethinking Preparedness
I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos about homesteading and prepping lately. Partly because I find the whole idea fascinating—growing your own food, living off the land, being prepared for whatever the world throws at you. But also because, let’s be honest, things are looking shaky out there, and…
Living Beyond Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of a Non-Monetary Life
Modern life is so entangled with money that imagining an existence without it feels radical, even impossible. We measure success in dollars earned, hours billed, and possessions acquired. Yet, beneath this financial scaffolding, a quieter, deeper economy persists—one of time, relationships, skill, and purpose. Stepping outside the monetary system, even…