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 Tragedy of the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’
The man who wrote one of environmentalism’s most-cited essays was a racist, eugenicist, nativist and Islamaphobe—plus his argument was wrong. Fifty years ago, University of California professor Garrett Hardin penned an influential essay in the journal Science. Hardin saw all humans as selfish herders: we worry that our neighbors’ cattle will graze the best grass. So, we send […]
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 […]