1. Three figures sit in a cave, a fourth approaches carrying a burning bushel. Urg: You know fire? Well I’ve figured out to start it. It’s a cold winter, so I’m thinking we should set everything on fire. Gru: That’s madness! Fire burns us, it is our natural enemy. We should instead splash everything with … Continue reading The Invention of Fire
A brief aside on the envy of the rich
It’s very interesting that there’s a lot of work spent on painting the poor as envious- hating the rich simply because they are rich- especially whenever the topic of redistribution is raised. However, almost no thought goes to the feelings so many of the rich have for the poor- enjoying the immiseration of the poor … Continue reading A brief aside on the envy of the rich
Yes, the Nazis were indisputably Right-Wing
Sometimes the claim is bandied about that the Nazis were a left-wing party on economic questions, perhaps because the Nazis were called “National socialists”. This is flatly and completely wrong and a form of pseudo-historiography. Here’s why: The Nazi party was built on right-wing voters and a right-wing support base: There are many disputes about … Continue reading Yes, the Nazis were indisputably Right-Wing
Survey evidence suggests Americans are generally conflict theorists
A few years ago I published something on Reddit in which I argued that perspectives on politics could be divided in two: those who believe that political controversies represent one or both sides making a mistake about what is in their own interests -which I termed mistake theorists-, and those that believe that political controversies … Continue reading Survey evidence suggests Americans are generally conflict theorists
Median incomes aren’t keeping up with growth- however closely you look
By now a lot of people are aware that median incomes haven’t moved all that much in a long time. Many people are even starting to accept that this is evidence the economy is buggered, from an ordinary person’s point of view. This distressing reality is pretty well communicated by this chart: However one occasionally … Continue reading Median incomes aren’t keeping up with growth- however closely you look
Internet searches increasingly favour the left over the right wing of politics.
I became interested in the question of whether Left-Wing or Right-Wing ideas are gaining greater visibility, as measured by searches recorded in Google Trends (GT). Particularly in how patterns of searches change relative to each other. Generally speaking there’s more left-wing searches than right-wing searches, but this doesn’t really tell us much- for example, left-wingers … Continue reading Internet searches increasingly favour the left over the right wing of politics.
If anything Black democrats are more passionate about economic justice than White democrats
There is a myth perpetually being circulated that economic issues are what white democrats care about, whereas Black voters care only about a form of racial politics abstracted from economic concern. This myth is often wielded as a club by an economically centrist Democratic party leadership, who portray economically left wing policies as out of … Continue reading If anything Black democrats are more passionate about economic justice than White democrats
The conscientious conservatives?
1.The relationship between conscientiousness and conservatism is very small I was talking with a friend the other day when I casually mentioned that there are no large correlations between big-five personality traits and political beliefs. He jumped in to correct me saying that obviously I didn’t mean to include conscientiousness, which was strongly correlated with … Continue reading The conscientious conservatives?
A consent theodicy
I have what I believe to be a novel argument for the compatibility of an all knowing, all powerful, all good god and the existence of evil.(1) It’s kind of a weird argument because it relies on premises not really compatible with any of the major monotheistic religions(2), thus it’s unlikely to be used by … Continue reading A consent theodicy
The relationship between self-enhancement and inequality is high, and that means the relationship between inequality and unhappiness is almost certainly larger than it appears.
In a study in Psychological Science a large (R=.79) correlation was found between self-enhancement as measured by higher ratings of your own abilities against others in your society and inequality, as measured by the Gini Index. In layman's terms, economic inequality is associated with people talking big game about themselves. Now this is a very … Continue reading The relationship between self-enhancement and inequality is high, and that means the relationship between inequality and unhappiness is almost certainly larger than it appears.
DePonySum 