Category Archives: economic inequality

Making Social and Economic Policies Through the Lens of the Social Determinants of Health

Posted on December 20, 2019 by greg

The inequities in the conditions in which people are born, live and work are driven by inequities in power, money, and resources. Political, economic, and resource distribution decisions made outside the health sector need to consider health as an outcome … Continue reading →

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Creating New Institutions: Discovering the Road to Freedom

Posted on December 10, 2019 by greg

Before the Enlightenment human beings were generally considered in terms of how they fit into social hierarchies and communal institutions, but following enlightenment the view was that the individual rather than society as a whole, is the most important entity. … Continue reading →

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How Hayek Lost His Debate on Cultural Evolution

Posted on November 20, 2019 by greg

Culture, cultural transmission, and cultural evolution arise from genetically evolved psychological adaptations for acquiring ideas, beliefs, values, practices, mental models, and strategies from other individuals by observation and inference. Cultural evolution, historically also known as sociocultural evolution, was originally developed … Continue reading →

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The Goal of the Progressive Revolution: To Transform Political and Social Structures

Posted on October 20, 2019 by greg

Following the French revolution, many writers in the 19th century noted that revolution was self-perpetuating. There is no way to stop it because liberty and equality can be endlessly claimed by group after group that feels deprived and degraded. And … Continue reading →

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The Truth on Societal Progress: Addressing a Failing Economic Model

Posted on October 1, 2019 by greg

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), an English philosopher and economist, believed that society was evolving towards increasing freedom of individuals and held that government intervention ought to be minimal in political and social life. Spencer’s survival of the fittest concept was believed … Continue reading →

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Address Identity Politics not Morality to Fix Today’s Polarization

Posted on August 20, 2019 by greg

Nietzsche contends that power-relations are at the basis of all social institutions. Ideologies are the principal and most cost-effective means whereby the mass of humanity is, and always has been, manipulated and controlled by its leaders. Ideologies all utilize morality … Continue reading →

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Bread and Circuses Are Important for Stability in the Community

Posted on August 10, 2019 by greg

 “Panem et circenses” or “bread and circuses”, observes the Roman satirical poet Juvenal (55-140 AD) are the only remaining cares of a Roman populace which has given up its birthright of political freedom. The life of Juvenal coincided with one … Continue reading →

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Connecting Ideologies to Understand the Dark Path to Fascism

Posted on August 1, 2019 by greg

Understanding power requires analysis of shifting ideologies. Power is the ability to get an individual to behave or not to behave in a particular manner and the ability to achieve one’s goals while denying others access to the same. Modern … Continue reading →

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The Power of Hope to Dismantle a Political-economic System of Inequality

Posted on July 20, 2019 by greg

Nietzsche observes, “Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.” Basically, distrust every optimistic theory. In other words, Nietzsche’s response to the tragedy of life is neither resignation nor self-denial, but a … Continue reading →

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Opportunities Lost: The True Cost of the American Dream

Posted on May 20, 2019 by greg

The “American Dream” has always been about the prospect of success, but 100 years ago, the phrase meant the opposite of what it does now. The original “American Dream” was not a dream of individual wealth; it was a dream … Continue reading →

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