Trumpism’s Big Problem: Trump

In a democracy the people choose a leader in whom they trust. Then the chosen leader says, ‘Now shut up and obey me.’ People and party are then no longer free to interfere in his business Max Weber Like many liberals, I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to crawl inside the headspace of Trump supporters, attempting to figure out what, if anything, could … Continue reading Trumpism’s Big Problem: Trump

Dissolving the Plutocracy from Below

The art of living is always to make a good thing out of a bad thing E.F. Schumacher First things first: let’s remind ourselves of the (seemingly) unassailable nature of the current American plutocracy. This plutocratic infrastructure is so tightly sealed that seemingly nothing can crack it. The two main parties take turns at the reins of power, mostly burning their time in office just … Continue reading Dissolving the Plutocracy from Below

Population Panic & The American Micro-Household

Whether we accept it or not, this will likely be the century that determines what the optimal human population is for our planet. It will come about in one of two ways: Either we decide to manage our own numbers, to avoid a collision of every line on civilization’s graph — or nature will do it for us, in the form of famines, thirst, climate … Continue reading Population Panic & The American Micro-Household

The Weirdness of American Crony Plutocracy

Our society will always remain an unstable and explosive compound as long as political power is vested in the masses and economic power in the classes. In the end one of these powers will rule. Either the plutocracy will buy up the democracy, or the democracy will vote away the plutocracy. Irving Fisher Under Trumpism, we have entered a new age, but it’s a peculiar … Continue reading The Weirdness of American Crony Plutocracy

Out of Eden (and back)

Knowledge forbidden?Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their LordEnvy them that? Can it be a sin to know?Can it be death? Milton As a whole, humans are still operating inside of our own species, telling stories about human conquests over nature and over each other. This is the stuff of history: what territory was taken, which dynasties usurp other dynasties, what great things have been invented, who … Continue reading Out of Eden (and back)

Asymmetric Polarization in America

They don’t love Trump because he’s strong. They love him because he makes their bitterness sacred. Because he gives them someone to blame — and someone to hurt. Garrett B. Matty Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain. Friedrich Schiller Conventional mainstream(ish) punditry has it that there are radical nutbags on both extremes of the American political spectrum, and that the best path forward … Continue reading Asymmetric Polarization in America

Trumpism After Trump

In a democracy the people choose a leader in whom they trust. Then the chosen leader says, ‘Now shut up and obey me.’ People and party are then no longer free to interfere in his business. Max Weber In our current plot position of “Trump 2: Revenge of Trump,” the question heard with increasing frequency is, “can this guy last another three years?” His erratic … Continue reading Trumpism After Trump

Twilight of American Idols

No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. Luke 5:37-39 It is often observed that the United States is the only country in the world held together by ideas, notions of freedom, justice, equality, liberty, etc. But it would be more accurate to say that America … Continue reading Twilight of American Idols

Cracking the MAGA Nut: Can the Outrage Machine be Disabled?

Unquestioned beliefs are the real authorities of any culture. Derrick Jensen Amidst the accelerating chaos that even has GOP senators and reps spooked, a couple things jumped to my attention this past week. First, even with Trump’s overall approval rating down to 36%, with the disapproval number at 60% (from Gallup), his support among Republicans remains almost 90%. And in trying to understand how 90% … Continue reading Cracking the MAGA Nut: Can the Outrage Machine be Disabled?

Empire vs. Plutocracy: JD Vance’s Stephen Miller Problem

We build be adding, by growing, not by tearing down….We can love each other despite the disagreement. JD Vance – Turning Point speech, Dec 21st, 2025 We live in a world in which you can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world, in the real world…that is governed by strength, that is governed by power. These … Continue reading Empire vs. Plutocracy: JD Vance’s Stephen Miller Problem