The institutional practice of allocating power within a society, which generally includes the assignment and exercise of authority [legitimate power] by various means, including violence.
Image source: Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin. My fascination with technology of all kinds can be traced back to my earliest memories. I wanted to know all I could about any object that might be applied to doing or making something, and about any action with a tool that can make something happen. In a fundamental … More TOXIC TECHNOLOGY: On the Convenience and Trauma of Industrial Modernity
To answer a question like “Is techno-fascism a thing?” requires a broader look at the nature and role of technology in human affairs. And oh yes, what are the values that we humans must live by as the epoch of industrial civilization comes to an end, and we face the chaotic early phase of the … More Is Techno-Fascism a Thing?
Image Credit: Britanica I have always been a bit of a techie. Ever since all those 21 Boy Scout merit badges to become an Eagle Scout, about seven decades ago, I have been fascinated by tools and their uses. Earning each merit badge taught me about one technology or another—whether cooking, knot tying, marksmanship, first … More The AI Illusion: Death in an Algorithm
The iconic film that expressed the surfing culture of Southern California in the late 1960s and on, was called “Endless Summer.” The movie traced the journey of a couple of surfers as they searched the globe for “the perfect wave.” Since then, the sport has matured and had even become a major business with surfing … More Endless Summer: Not what It Once Was
I cringe every time I hear some talking head refer to the gang of thieves engaged in an autocratic attempt to overthrow a democracy, however flawed, as “the administration.” Why? Because my first thought is, what exactly are they administering? An administration administrates; it does not plunder. Well, occasionally some do in relatively minor ways. … More When is an Administration a Regime?
image credit: AARP My father was an insurance claims adjuster. He was also an extremely ethical man. When a claimant tried to overstate the damage from a fire, or lie about that diamond necklace, which actually may not have been stolen, it angered him greatly. I came to hate insurance because of what his role … More Insurance: Public Capital for Public Benefit
Photo Credit: Wikipedia For whatever reason, the phrase “friendly persuasion” popped into my head a couple of days ago. “Wasn’t that the title of an old movie?” I thought. Yep! 1956. Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, and Anthony Perkins starred in the “story of a Quaker family in southern Indiana during the American Civil War and … More (Un)Friendly Persuasion
[Image Credit R. Christie. A google search yielded no graphic image that reflected more or less inequality in a society, so I drew one. Notice where the widest parts are. More inequality exists where the bottom of the figure is wide (the very poor) and the top (mega-billionaires) is narrow. Less inequality is shown by … More Inequality is a Verb: It is a Process, Not Just a Condition
[Photo credit: Al Jazeera] I’m sorry, but billionaires have no excuse for promoting ignorance as knowledge. They cover their tracks well, but have all the access in the world to find the truth of anything. But that is not what their pontifications and prognostications are all about. As always, they are about their obsessive compulsive … More Billionaires Who Carefully Know Nothing and Care Less
ALCATRAZ ~ It is not that we have no choice. But to choose requires conscious awareness of the situation as well as the alternatives and some ideas about how to achieve them. Some folks have difficulty making decisions and would rather have someone in authority make decisions for us. I think it was Theodore Adorno, … More Due Process vs Dictatorship
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 