Should We Blame Rich People?

The Evolution of Blame. It’s human nature to seek scapegoats to blame when things break. The reasons for this are deeply rooted in the evolutionary development of group behavior. In prehistoric times, when an individual in a tribe did something that hurt the tribe, they were punished with a brutal beating that often resulted in […]

Justice, Power & Wisdom

We All Lose from Systemic Injustice. I have a good friend who is a founder of a multibillion-dollar company who has been thoroughly eviscerated by a biased judge in a protracted court battle. In fact, I know several people who have been on the receiving end of court decisions that were substantially corrupted by institutional […]

Has Globalism Worked for Indonesia?

Is Indonesia’s free trade policy today achieving broadly shared prosperity? If it is, then we should see economic and human health outcomes that result in the broad creation and broad distribution of wealth and health for the majority of the Indonesian people. This would be considered a “democratic free-trade outcome.” If, instead, we find that […]

Crowd Wisdom & The Memory Hole

Introduction to LibroGod. A friend of mine (I’ll call him LibroGod.) is an accomplished business person and a fanatical connoisseur of “important books.” LibroGod has collected thousands of physical books. He has developed a complex classification system to organize them according to his personal system of values, which he believes is the only meaningful way […]

Belgium’s Political Economy

This was a research project that I worked on with several colleagues to evaluate the economic and political conditions in Belgium. Belgium has a very unique political culture and a special role in our planet’s geopolitical system, which is pretty fascinating. I was the Lead Writer and Editor for this project; so, if you don’t […]

Proof of Google Censorship & a Path to Freedom

My professional life depends on rationally separating facts from fiction, evidence-based economic analysis, data-driven decision-making, and real-world experience. In fact, I’ve even written about the difference between truth, fiction, and propaganda. So, what I’m about to share with you is not coming from somebody who shouts “conspiracy!” without substantial evidence. Background Summary. As some of […]

Political Party Systems in Germany vs. France

Germany has such an extraordinary level of institutional integrity and higher quality governance than virtually any nation on Earth. So I spent some time studying their system and contrasted it against France’s, which has a lot of features that are similar to the U.S. political system. Germany’s Party System Germany’s party system is usually classified […]

Truth & Reconciliation: Germany vs. Japan After WWII

This has always been an interesting philosophical and cultural question: After World War II, in general, why did German society accept responsibility for Nazi atrocities while Japanese society did not accept responsibility for Japanese atrocities? (The Asian Holocaust claimed at least twice as many lives as the Nazi Holocaust.) There were several cultural, logistical, and strategic reasons. […]

The Virus That Spawns the Disease of Terrorism

What International Relations framework is most capable of dealing with global terrorism in the 21st Century and beyond? This is a question I have been asked several times. There is a short answer and a slightly longer answer. The short answer: Constructivism is the best approach because it’s not blinded by ideology and special interest […]

What’s Really Wrong with the Banking System?

Many people have a vague sense that the financial system is broken and corrupt, but they often don’t know how to explain exactly what is wrong. This is understandable because there is so much noise, false information and propaganda spewed in the mainstream media. Additionally, many politicians and corporate executives deliberately manipulate public perceptions of […]