A conversation with political philosopher Michael Sandel Meritocracy is not an alternative to inequality. If you think about it, it’s a justification for inequality. That’s what it’s become, and the effect of this has been to generate hubris among the winners and anger, resentment, even humiliation among those left behind. Because it is not only […]
The Obligation of Self-Discovery
Simone de Beauvoir’s relationship with her readers was a mutually demanding collaboration. Why did I write all of this to you? Because I have never felt such a human closeness as I do with you, Madame, whose writing can express the whole gamut of emotions. — from a 1972 letter to Simone de Beauvoir In the fall […]
Are we city dwellers or hunter-gatherers?
New research suggests that the familiar story of early human society is wrong – and the consequences are profound. – by David Graeber And David Wengrow 1. In the beginning was the word For centuries, we have been telling ourselves a simple story about the origins of social inequality. For most of their history, humans lived […]