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Category Archives: Political Science
It’s What You Don’t See That Misleads You
Often, it’s not what you see that misleads you. It’s what you don’t see. In economics, it’s called “the broken window fallacy.” Broken windows create jobs for people who replace windows. Therefore, the fallacy concludes that broken windows are a … Continue reading
The Way to Go
“To every man there openeth A Way, and Ways, and a Way. And the High Soul climbs the High way, And the Low Soul gropes the Low, And in between, on the misty flats, The rest drift to and fro. … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Judaism, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged Concepts, Generalization, Justice, Number, Poetry, Us versus Them, Wisdom
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Job and Culture
In yesterday’s blog post, I referred to “automatic pilot.” And as often happens when I write, I wondered if I needed to explain what it was. Any readers who didn’t understand “automatic pilot” would have missed my point. Suppose that … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Judaism, Political Science, Society
Tagged Book of Job, Communication, Community, Cooperation, Culture, Diversity, Heritage, Social Conflict, Trust
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Everyone’s Welfare Counts
We should try to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It sounds like a pretty good idea. And it is. But it’s not the whole answer. The problem is that like lower animals, humans distinguish between … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology
Tagged Choice, Ethics, Group behavior, Group membership, Human Dignity, Moral Choice, Nozick, Side constraints, Utilitarianism
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The Trouble with Politics
Americans disagree about a lot. But there’s one point on which we are unanimous: Our politicians are awful. Let’s be honest: Except in the haze of partisan fervor, can anyone truly believe that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were the … Continue reading
Posted in Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged Followers, Hierarchy, Partisanship, Politics, Power, Primate societies, Propaganda
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Oh Say, Kin You See?
Football player Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the American national anthem. And people on all sides of the political spectrum went nuts. Why? The most obvious reason is that they either endorse or dispute his complaint: “I am not … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged American Flag, Evolution, In-Group, Kaepernick, Kin Selection, National Anthem, Psychology, Tribal behavior, Tribe
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What If We Can’t Agree?
What if we just can’t agree about some issues? Suppose that we’ve had calm, rational conversations with people on the other side of the dispute. It does happen occasionally. And suppose that each side understands the other. People on each … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Political Science, Society
Tagged Compromise, Democracy, Dispute Resolution, Federalism, Social realism
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Achievable Good Is Better Than Impossible Perfect
You’ve probably heard the joke about why a ham sandwich is better than eternal happiness: Nothing is better than eternal happiness. And a ham sandwich is better than nothing. A ham sandwich isn’t perfect, but it’s better than having no … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Political Science, Society
Tagged Achievable goals, Ideology, Perfection, Social realism, Utopia, Utopianism, Voltaire
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Detoxifying Social Media
Social media started as an enjoyable way to chat with people who shared our interests. But it soon developed a dark side. It started to generate hostility and hysteria. Crazed mobs started to harass and threaten people who made social … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Philosophy, Political Science, Society
Tagged Facebook, Mass communication, News Media, Social Conflict, Social Media, Twitter
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Respect the Other Person
When you disagree with someone, how can you keep the argument focused on the issues? You don’t want to get sidetracked, and you especially don’t want the discussion to turn into a screaming match. The previous blog post (“How to … Continue reading
The Thousand-Year View 