Beyond Profit: Building an Economy That Works for People
For centuries, the driving force of economic progress has been the pursuit of profit. Factories churned, assembly lines hummed, markets expanded, and societies reaped the material rewards…
Social and Self-Help
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The Misery of Minor Inconveniences
It is a curious feature of modern life, particularly in the affluent portions of the world, that comfort has not engendered contentment, nor abundance brought with it…
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The Library, the Fire, and the Flicker of Hope
T.S. Eliot, not often accused of excessive optimism, once remarked that the very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for…
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Build Your Dream or Dig Another Man’s Ditch
A man wakes up early. He puts on his boots. He eats his breakfast. He walks out the door. He goes to work. He does this every…
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The Other Kind of Safety Net We Keep Forgetting
When we talk about safety nets in America, the conversation almost always swings back to money. Retirement accounts, emergency savings, insurance policies, college funds; we build them,…
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Susu: A Time-Honored Tradition of Community Lending
In the modern economic landscape, one where credit scores and bank loans are the go-to ways to get financial help, there’s a system that has been around…
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The Man Who Didn’t Starve
The man knew how to fix a roof. Not beautifully, but well enough it didn’t leak. He could wire a house without burning it down. He could…
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The Question of a Life Unshackled
I have often wondered why a man, when given the choice, so often chooses to be a beast of burden. It is not that he delights in…
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The Tower of Babel and the Rebellion of the Clever
We read in the book of Genesis a brief, almost cryptic story about a tower reaching toward heaven. Traditionally, it has been taken as a fable about…
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The Fire Between the Sparks
Creativity is more than making something, it is sharing the act of becoming. Creativity is not a thing. Nor is it the making of a thing. It…