Category Archives: economic inequality

On Virtual Feudalism

During the Age of Enlightenment people believed that the reasoning of men could free them of their ills, and lead to peace, security and good government. It was believed that reason would ensure the progress of humanity, and change the … Continue reading

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On Becoming a Nietzschean Society

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) claimed there are no facts only interpretations. In his view there was no objective fact about what has value in itself – culture consisted of beliefs developed to perpetuate a particular power structure. The system, if followed … Continue reading

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On the Average Man

During the 1830s there was a shift from the enlightened or rational man to the average man. The rise of statistics in the 19th century attests to the loss in faith in the power of individual reason with respect to … Continue reading

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On the Emperor’s New Clothes

The class orientation of past regimes was public and open. The monarchy, the church, and the nobility ran matters for their own interest. In the last half of the 19th century during the first era of globalization the new rich … Continue reading

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The End of History – A Journey

The Enlightenment was a movement to displace the dogged adherence to established opinions and customs, and to enlighten a population the system had kept in the dark. Voltaire (1694-1778) relied upon his books to spread the light (knowledge) across Europe. Georg … Continue reading

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On Self-actualization

Georg Hegel (1770-1831), philosopher and historian, had to decide what to retain and what to jettison of the French Enlightenment tradition that had permeated German culture. From the Enlightenment he chose freedom of action, not just freedom of thought. The … Continue reading

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Aristotle and Freedom

Plato developed his concept of freedom in a perfect society – describing an ideal way to structure our society. Aristotle approaches the problem from an individualistic point of view – freedom depends on people’s ability to communicate freely and effectively. … Continue reading

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Plato and the Healthy Community

Athens and Sparta, two of the most powerful Greek city-states, had fought as allies in the Greco-Persian Wars between 499 and 449 BCE. The half-century following the Persian Wars Athens grew as a maritime power and prospered. As Athens grew … Continue reading

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Reality in 2013

The Enlightenment saw the intellectual maturation of the humanist belief in reason as the supreme guiding principle in the affairs of mankind. The ‘truth’ discovered through reason would displace the dogged adherence to established opinions and customs and enlighten a … Continue reading

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The New Normal

In the 17th century the word normal evolved from the Latin norma (noun), the carpenter square, and  normalis (adjective), meaning forming a right angle. Until the middle of the 19th century normal was used in geometry and simply meant ‘standing … Continue reading

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