Categorical Consciousness: Imaginaries and Experience

What? Well, I was just thinking about how people deal with habits and addictions when either may have both pleasurable and self-destructive consequences. Some folks may be victims of another’s categorization, or of their own. Of course, categorization is a linguistic mechanization that is closely involved with both framing the world for many purposes, and … More Categorical Consciousness: Imaginaries and Experience

Energy Equity Requires No Billionaires

Of course, in the United States and in other industrialized nations many people wish they were billionaires. That is what the culture of consumerism has taught them. Even the billionaires who turn out to be scoundrels at best, are idolized for their wealth however ill-gotten. The “greed is good” value system of ‘Gordon Gecko’ (played … More Energy Equity Requires No Billionaires

The Great Battle: Economic Growth vs. Human Wellbeing

Image credit: NBC News. This post was first published on my new Substack platform, Illusions Transformed. The idea that economic growth is the road to progress is so ingrained in the minds of we ‘moderns’ that the growing disconnect between capital accumulation and human wellbeing is hardly noticed. Yes, we know about poverty, but the … More The Great Battle: Economic Growth vs. Human Wellbeing

It’s Time for the Dem’s to Get Tough, and to Strategize

I must admit, I was almost as perplexed as the Democrat Party operatives were in struggling over whether they should continue supporting Joe Biden despite the debate disaster or to urge him to step aside for a younger candidate to defeat the would-be dictator—then Joe did what now seems to have been inevitable. Since the … More It’s Time for the Dem’s to Get Tough, and to Strategize

Priorities: Living Well vs. Predatory Extraction

Lots of evidence from social science research makes it clear that we live much more by habit than by rational decisions about most things we do and say. We live in complex social, political, and economic systems that not only overlap but influence our lives in more ways than just about anyone could list. Our … More Priorities: Living Well vs. Predatory Extraction

The Global Caste System and the Climate Crisis

Anyone who reads much about current affairs is likely aware of the most recent report from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). I have criticized the IPCC reports in the past, mostly because they have consistently underestimated the heating of the planet and the ecological and climate consequences of man-made disruption of the climate. … More The Global Caste System and the Climate Crisis

The Deep State or The Shallow State: Is That the Question?

The “deep state” has gotten a lot of press lately, mostly bad since it is deemed anti-democratic. Why is nobody talking about the “shallow state”? I’ll define what I mean by that in a minute. But first, let’s be clear about what the ‘deep state’ really is. Recently the radical right weaponized the concept of … More The Deep State or The Shallow State: Is That the Question?

The Sustainability Trap: Shifting Targets, No Goal

Sustainability is a complicated matter. It is also a very popular idea among those who want to contribute to a stable future for humanity. The first question that always comes to my mind is, “Sustain what?” People toss the term around as if everyone knows what it means. Well, for most it means to make … More The Sustainability Trap: Shifting Targets, No Goal