A BLOG of PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTIONS & SPECULATIONS

Socialism & Fear of Socialism

Published on Friday June 3rd, 2011

Kevin Drum questions the theory that businesses aren’t hiring because they don’t know what the costs of new regulations will be:

But the simple fact is that regulatory uncertainty is no greater today than it’s ever been. Financial uncertainty is high, but the Obama adminstration just hasn’t been overhauling regs that affect the cost of new workers any more than usual.

Drum suggests that it’s plausible that this is an issue that’s been invented by Fox News. But isn’t it also plausible that business owners fear regulations because unconsciously, they believe they are necessary? And doesn’t the Fox News paranoiac fear of socialism betray an unconscious belief in the necessity of socialism?

Colloqium

Further Reflections

May 15th, 2013

Critique of User Interface Illusions

Alexis Madrigal spent some time with Facebook's UX designers and content strategists and wrote a profile and a critique of what he takes to be the company's design philosophy. There's a lot to like about this essay in terms of its focus and the questions it raises, but one flaw is…

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April 3rd, 2013

Compassionate Violence in Buddhism

Caution: 3,000 words ahead Many writers have argued that we live in an era of unprecedented narcissism, particularly when we're talking about Millenials—the most notable example is of course Jean Twenge. To me it's self-evidently true, but many disagree and write aggrieved and slightly pathetic articles contesting these points and praising…

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April 2nd, 2013

She's Watching the Faces Watching Her

Carrying some lipstick for the The boyfriend blonde between the rolls of sheets She's professionally poised The faces are watching her She's watching the faces watching her — Underworld, Push Upstairs Andrew Keen is best known for his criticism of internet culture's celebration of amateurs and rejection of expertise in The…

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