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.
The diverse conspiracy theories, the denial of scientific knowledge, and the demands of an absolute individualism against the public interest, which have arisen lately, certainly give one pause for thought. The historical parallels to the rise of fascism are stunning. The ability of a president—who in no way represents the actual interests of the American … More Performing Fascism: It’s about Behavior, not Theory
“What is a UFO?” I asked the students attending my Research Methodology class. I intended the question to get them to think about how it is that we know what we think we know and how we determine the quality of evidence we use to judge “reality.” “A flying saucer,” one replied. “It’s an alien … More Arrogance and Ignorance: Not the Best Package for National Leadership
The other day at a rural intersection, I pulled up behind a pickup truck towing a small trailer. At the stop sign, his left-turn signal light was blinking on the trailer. So, naturally I expected him to turn left. He turned right. As he rounded the corner, I could see the turn signal on the … More Getting Our Wires Crossed and Going the Wrong Way
Leah Stokes is an important young climate writer and Assistant Professor or political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She recently wrote an eloquent description of the relation of California’s record wildfires to the accelerating global climate chaos in an article in The Atlantic. It reflects her solid work on the growing climate … More Why Climate Policy is Failing
We have become a Nazi monster in the eyes of the whole world – bullies and bastards who would rather kill than live peacefully. We are whores for power and oil with hate and fear in our hearts. ~ Hunter S. Thompson I have restrained myself from joining the liberal chorus that labels Donald Trump … More Stupid Is as Stupid Does
Most of us remember at least vaguely the constitutional admonition that any authority it does not explicitly assign to the federal government, “are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” (Amendment X, to the Constitution of the United States of America) We also remember how southern politicians weaponized the principle of “states rights” … More A New Meaning for “States Rights”: Community Sovereignty for Health and Safety
How to manage a societal crisis: that is the question. Or, is it a question at all? Why is it so difficult for a society of ostensibly free people to work together to make life better? To be accurate, we humans are in quite a pickle these days. With looming climate chaos before us, we … More Tyranny vs Leadership: Authoritarian Exploitation or Mutual Aid for Survival
At first, the “great debate” over whether people ought to be required to wear a protective facemask in public or maintain “social distance” in the interests of public health as the COVID-19 pandemic surges across the nation, surprised me. It should not have. The controversy is not really about facemasks or public safety. It is … More To Mask Or Not to Mask: That is NOT the Question
Recent calls to “defund the police” miss the point, yet they point to something important to both the public and police themselves. More than anything, such demands express the frustration that comes on the heels of not only the recent police killings but in response to decades of attempting to reform police institutions to purge … More Misunderstanding Police: Transformation, Not Mere Reform
“Culling the herd” may be a crass way of referring to what is going on in too many states and cities today. However, we may learn something by considering the parallels and differences. In the wild, large predators such as lions or cheetahs cull herds of gazelles, zebras, etc. by attacking the old, infirm, or … More Culling the Herd with Arrogant Ignorance
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 