The U.S. Bill of Rights is glorious and is supposed to protect us from majority rule. But the Founders did not know about social media and how it would incite populism. We now have populism of the right and the left. Populists do “reach across the aisle” to go after “big tech.” My wish in any election is for divided government. We also hear that the TV debates are (should be) the occasion for ..read more

Margaret Heffernan writes beautifully and wisely. "While we can never render complexity simple, we could embrace it as an adventure, calling us to investigate the infinite permutations of life that it contains. Surrendering agency, action and adventure for convenience is a miserable bargain. In the uncharted world, who is content to be left hugging the shore when we could use our freedom t ..read more

MLK's I Have Dream speech was beguiling in many ways. But I heard a Stokely Carmichael speech shortly thereafter and felt deflated. Didn't he get the word that it must be about content of your character rather than color of your skin? Fast forward and everywhere you look it is about the color of everyone's skin. How awful. And history cannot be simple. But seemingly educated adults can be ..read more

From Wikipedia: “Executive Order 10988 is a United States presidential executive order issued by President John F. Kennedy on January 17, 1962 that recognized the right of federal employees to collective bargaining. This executive order was a breakthrough for public sector workers, who were not protected under the 1935 Wagner Act.” JFK thought this was smart politics. What could go wrong ..read more

Tribalism is natural and often hideous. But over many years, it had been tamed – to some extent. Every group has historical grievances. These are incited and nurtured by demagogues (mostly politicians) as a matter of course. They are even assisted by some who actually want to be seen as victims, very odd way to seek (and find) status.  Strange but apparently true. Retrogressing, we get ..read more

In the time of pandemic, changes that had been underway speed up. People adapt and change a little faster, technology adapts and changes faster, even the rules-of-the-game change and adapt. The three prompt each other. Rules-of-the-game involves politics and is the most sluggish of the three. The first two are dynamic and involve trial-and-error learning. (There is always some path dependence ..read more

Economists tell students and others that there are "needs" and "wants". And the distinction is subjective and personal for most people. "I need a drink." Likewise, who knows which are "essential services."?  Politcians, of all people? The news have been full of examples of questionable calls by various politicians on this question. Daycare? Essential for many working parents. "Green" Teslas?  ..read more

Palisades Park in Santa Monica has long been my favorite weekend escape. Many others feel the same way. It is a pleasant place for walks, picnics, exercise and much more. Some weeks ago, the City authorities posted Closure signs that no one took seriously. People kept on enjoying and the cops patrolled with loudspeakers. That failed. Now, the whole thing is fenced off. Why? Keeping a safe ..read more

What do we know? What are we learning and re-learning? Here are my top ten. <!--[if !supportLists]-->1 -- Black swans can happen anytime, anywhere. <!--[if !supportLists]-->2 -- Initial responses are inevitably confused. But trial-and-error learning happens and we do get better. The U.S. was horribly unprepared going into WWI and WWII but, once on track, American productivity stunned ..read more

The 10 richest men of all time Mansa Musa (1280-1337, king of the Mali empire) wealth indescribable Augustus Caesar (63 BC-14 AD, Roman emperor) $4.6tn (£3.5tn) Zhao Xu (1048-1085, emperor Shenzong of Song in China) wealth incalculable Akbar I (1542-1605, emperor of India's Mughal dynasty) wealth incalculable Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919, Scottish-American industrialist) $372bn John D ..read more