Category Archives: Society

Brexit Scenarios and some Advice for Brexiteers

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Paul Frijters

Brexit is the main political issue in the UK, competing with sex for the attention of the public. It is a daily gamble whether the news headline is about some politician fondling a knee 55 years ago or a row … Continue reading →

Posted in bubble, Cultural Critique, Democracy, Geeky Musings, Humour, Political theory, Politics - international, Social, Society | 10 Comments

Our countries need us.

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Paul Frijters

Humanity is at a high point. What our ancestors dreamed of is slowly becoming a reality: a world without hunger in which the vast majority of mankind live peaceful and long lives. We are not there yet, but in Europe, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, Economics and public policy, Education, Ethics, History, Inequality, Information, Life, Literature, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - international, Politics - national, Religion, Science, Social Policy, Society | 9 Comments

Is the end of Brexit nigh?

Posted on December 8, 2017 by Paul Frijters

The EU and the UK government have just agreed to muddle on in their negotiations. Nothing is truly decided until everything is decided, but they have adopted a position document (see here) that details what they want the next steps … Continue reading →

Posted in bubble, Democracy, Economics and public policy, History, Political theory, Politics - international, Society | 13 Comments

Advance Australia Fair: ignore the other national histories on offer.

Posted on November 15, 2017 by Paul Frijters

National history is the story that binds ‘us who make up the nation’ into a single entity with a collective memory. It has a purpose and as such we can choose what historical events and realities to put into that … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Death and taxes, Democracy, Ethics, Geeky Musings, History, Humour, Indigenous, Life, Politics - national, Race and indigenous, Social, Society | 35 Comments

Let’s have another World War!

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Paul Frijters

Sometimes, it feels like 1910 all over again. Then, a confident Germany was the up-and-coming industrial power house, fearing an even more up-and-coming Russia, with the UK and France desperately holding on to their colonial empires. Now, a confident China … Continue reading →

Posted in Bullshit, Business, Climate Change, Cultural Critique, Death and taxes, Democracy, Economics and public policy, Employment, Environment, Ethics, Geeky Musings, Gender, History, Humour, Immigration and refugees, Indigenous, Inequality, Information, Innovation, Intellectual Monopoly Privileges, Journalism, Media, Miscellaneous, Music, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - international, Politics - national, Public and Private Goods, Race and indigenous, regulation, Religion, Science, Social, Social Policy, Society, Sport-general, Theatre, Travel | 5 Comments

Observations, lessons, and predictions for the Catalan situation

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Paul Frijters

[cross-posted, slightly updated, from Pearls and Limitations] Observations: About 40% of the population of Catalonia and its capital Barcelona was not born there, but largely comes from the rest of Spain. Internal migration is high, with about 0.4% of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Economics and public policy, Education, Ethics, History, Immigration and refugees, Inequality, Life, Media, Politics - international, Social Policy, Society, Theatre | 12 Comments

Is Catholicism in rude health? 2017 edition

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Paul Frijters

Looking at the newspapers you’d think Catholicism is having a hard time with philandering priests and cover-ups of their doings being found out on a weekly basis. In Australia, the royal commission has uncovered a lot of systematically covered-up child … Continue reading →

Posted in Art and Architecture, Bullshit, Cultural Critique, Dance, Death and taxes, Ethics, Geeky Musings, History, Humour, Libertarian Musings, Miscellaneous, Politics - international, Religion, Society, WOW! - Amazing | 9 Comments