Category Archives: Society

Four Deadly Errors

Posted on November 9, 2024 by N.S. Palmer

Four deadly errors creep into most debates about social policy. They are the moralistic fallacy, the realistic fallacy, the rationalistic fallacy, and the existentialist fallacy: My new book Why Sane People Believe Crazy Things Second Edition helps you spot fallacies … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Psychology, Society | Tagged arguments, errors, Fallacies, Logic | Leave a comment

Two Views of Human Rights

Posted on October 27, 2024 by N.S. Palmer

Human rights are important: on that, everyone agrees. But that’s about the only point of agreement. A big problem is that people don’t think about what human rights are or where they come from. Rights are a claim that we … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged History, Human Rights, Rationalism in Politics, Rights of Englishmen | Leave a comment

Wisdom to Face Life’s Challenges

Posted on October 25, 2024 by N.S. Palmer

Stoicism is the belief that we should try to be serene and rational. It seems totally alien to our hyper-emotional culture, where people can get rich by crying and complaining without actually doing anything worthwhile. A crucial part of stoicism … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Philosophy, Psychology, Society | Tagged Courage, Life, Morality, Positive attitude, Stoicism, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Healthy Societies Are Efficient

Posted on September 28, 2021 by N.S. Palmer

Efficiency isn’t everything, but healthy societies and people need it. If you want the deep explanation of why that’s true, read about Charles Darwin’s observations of birds (finches) on the Galapagos Islands off the coast of South America. Each island … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Bible, China, Communication, Evolution, Group solidarity, In-Group, Poetry, Political Science, Shared culture, Social cohesion, Solidarity | Leave a comment

Always To Be Blessed

Posted on September 10, 2021 by N.S. Palmer

It’s seldom that a two-line passage from a poem can explain so much that’s wrong with the world. But Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man (1732) has just such a passage: “Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man never is, … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Political Science, Society | Tagged Alexander Pope, Command economy, Desire, Economics, Essay on Man, Free market, Greedy desire, Serenity, Social Peace, Wisdom | 1 Comment

Three Tales from Amtrak

Posted on April 14, 2021 by N.S. Palmer

In the early 2000s, I worked for a year as an IT contractor at Amtrak’s headquarters in Washington DC. My experience there showed one of America’s greatest problems, as well as its solution. The U.S. federal government created Amtrak in … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Society | Tagged Affirmative Action, Amtrak, Communication, Cultural difference, Diversity, H1-Bs, India, Merit, Productivity, Quota hiring, Replacement, Unemployment | 2 Comments

Why The News Is So Bad

Posted on February 27, 2021 by N.S. Palmer

Why is the news so bad? I’m not talking about biased news. Yes, there’s bias, and it’s getting worse. But that’s not the issue here. I’m also not talking about why the news is full of so many evil and … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Psychology, Society | Tagged Accuracy, Corporate media, Corporate politician, Incompetence, Joseph Pulitzer, Journalism, News, News Media | Leave a comment

Drug Policy: Good Is Better Than Perfect

Posted on February 23, 2021 by N.S. Palmer

American laws about recreational drug use are a mess. Americans rot in prison for using or selling marijuana, which is relatively harmless. They rot in prison for selling cocaine and heroin, which aren’t harmless but harm mainly heavy users, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Science, Psychology, Science, Society | Tagged Addiction, Cocaine, Corruption, DEA, Drug policy, Heroin, Marijuana, Perfectionism | 6 Comments

Don’t Live Thoughtlessly

Posted on February 19, 2021 by N.S. Palmer

The American philosopher John Dewey argued that for most people, most of the time, thinking is a last resort. They only think when a problem or obstacle blocks their path. And he wasn’t wrong. Most of the time, we live … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Conformity, Cruelty, Customs, Groupthink, Herd behavior, Independent thought | Leave a comment

Hope and History

Posted on December 12, 2020 by N.S. Palmer

A review of Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story, by Wilfred M. McClay Originally published on May 25, 2019 here. What is the purpose of history? Is it merely a record of facts—of dates and kings, … Continue reading →