I read the Melian Dialogue, a central episode in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, and offer some commentary on the most significant parts. Thucydides’ realism is not identical to the Athenians’ realism, which is more deterministic and extreme. … More “The Strong Do What They Can and the Weak Suffer What They Must:” The Melian Dialogue (Thucydides 6)
This Maurin Academy short series will run on Tuesdays from 7-8:30 p.m Central US time starting August 23 and ending September 20, 2022. Laurie Johnson and Jakob Hanschu will analyze the political economy of agricultural biotechnology using insights from critical studies of the information era. We invite participants to join us. If you would like … More Coming Up: Agricultural Biotechnology and the Information Economy Short Series (Maurin Academy)
Returning to my ongoing series on Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, I discuss the events and meaning of the Corcyrean Revolution, including proxy war, ideological conflict, irreligion and fanaticism.
The Maurin Academy’s next short series, on Agricultural biotechnology and information technology will start in late August. Sign up on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/agriculture-biotechnology-the-information-economy-tickets-373417821757 … More The Root Cause of Civil War (Thucydidean Realism 5)
In this selection from the final session of Summer Seminar 2022 on Christian Anarchism, I discuss Dorothy Day’s background and motivation for co-founding the Catholic Worker movement with Peter Maurin. Dorothy Day is currently being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church, and there is a growing interest in her philosophy and work.
The Maurin Academy’s next short series, on Agricultural biotechnology and information technology, will start in late August. Sign up on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/agriculture-biotechnology-the-information-economy-tickets-373417821757 … More Who Was Dorothy Day? (Christian Anarchism Clip 5)
In this segment from the fourth session of the Christian Anarchism Summer Seminar, I discuss the pros and cons of communities like the Amish and Bruderhof. The inherently exclusive nature of such communities is both heir strength and weakness. Is there any way to learn from them while doing something that includes more people and thus has more promise for solving social and environmental problems?
The Maurin Academy’s next short series, on Agricultural biotechnology and information technology will start in late August. Sign up on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/agriculture-biotechnology-the-information-economy-tickets-373417821757 … More The Amish and Bruderhof Are Partly Right (Christian Anarchism Clip 4)
Abortion in the US is a part of the torn social fabric that pro-life Christians, along with everyone else, have created.Without taking real responsibility for that reality, the changes in state law will probably just make things worse. What would Christians have to do next to be truly pro-life and to abandon what Pope John Paul II called the culture of death? … More Why Overturning Roe is Not a Victory
In this segment from the third session in the ongoing Summer Seminar, I discuss the Just War reasoning that argues against the pacifism held by most Christian Anarchists.
… More Just War Theory: The Argument for a Middle Path (Christian Anarchism Clip 3)
The second session of the Summer 2022 Christian Anarchism seminar went deeper into major themes in Christian Anarchism, including the importance of the Sermon on the Mount. The Jesus that emerges in that sermon is a revolutionary, but not the typical type. The ideas in the sermon and elsewhere in Jesus’ teaching reveal a God … More Why Religion and Politics Don’t Go Together (Christian Anarchism Clip 2)
This is a section of my ongoing seminar on Christian Anarchism, Summer 2022. Why is it so hard for people to break free of the liberal world view and actually see and take up the challenge, and the life and action-altering depth of a religious commitment? With their insistence that Christianity and government are not friends but foes, Christian anarchists may help us recognize our own blockages and accept (at least a little) the challenge. … More Why Is It So Hard to Change Anything? Christian Anarchism 1, Clip (ft. the Radical Liberal Chomsky)
A lot of pain and dehumanizing damage in the world takes place due to “technical rationality,” which Hannah Arendt referred to as the “banality of evil.” Here I discuss the baby formula shortage as an example of how “wicked problems” are caused by layers and layers of failures that can be traced back to a lack of fundamental responsibility. In our world, no one is responsible except for the discrete part they play in the overall machine whose inhuman, abstract, and often “CYA” formulations govern their responses and behavior. The evil of non-being comes through in the inertia of organizations and the inaction and conformity of lots of people over long periods of time. … More Baby Formula Shortage and Technocratic Evil
Political Philosophy 