The Ultimate Crime

The biggest crimes stand in the open; what prevents people from seeing them is simply their size and the fact that they are crimes. We can’t believe that such large evils are possible. They have to be explicable some other way. And so we notice them for only the blink of an eye, immediately conjuring a rationalization to save ourselves from the sight. Continue reading “The Ultimate Crime”

Podcast: Why Dropping Out And Running Away Are Virtuous

The idea that running away is a virtue bothers a lot of people, but when you find that the greatest men and women of history have done precisely this, it’s time to re-evaluate, no matter how it makes you feel.

Compliance is how we shrivel and ultimately die to ourselves. Acting on your own decisions – with all the risk that implies – is the path of life and liberation.

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The Surge And Fall Of Monkey Masculinity

What I’m calling “monkey masculinity” is a deep and old problem, and one that I will shortly explain. And unfortunately it will not vanish in any short period of time.

The “surge” part of our title, however, refers to a recent phenomenon, and it will vanish. In fact, I think its process of decline is beginning right now. Continue reading “The Surge And Fall Of Monkey Masculinity”

How Cryptography Revolutionized Revolution

I am no fan of violent revolution, yet I have to admit that John Kennedy had a point when he said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” The forces that drive revolutions push themselves to the surface one way or another. If they can find a peaceful path, they have a chance to transform the world slowly and beneficially. If they are repressed, violence occurs sooner or later. Continue reading “How Cryptography Revolutionized Revolution”

The Quality of Information Within A Hierarchy

People very often expect authorities to possess superior information. After all, the assumptions of the 20th century were that those at the top of large systems have information the rest of us don’t, and that they make better decisions because of it. This was the lesson of the factory, the military and government. In all cases, those at the top were believed to have the best information. Continue reading “The Quality of Information Within A Hierarchy”