All more enlightened forms of government require certain institutions and customs in order to function. Democratic capitalism doesn't work without strong contract enforcement and low corruption for example. Is it possible that there are institutions and customs yet (or about) to be discovered and implemented which would make communism work. If so would that be enough to "save" humanity? Perhaps, but there's a lot of things working against that idea as well.
I recently read an article titled How I Almost Destroyed a £50 million War Plane and The Normalisation of Deviance. In this post I examine the idea of deviance and what it means to normalize it. The article most examined it from the perspective of smaller systems, but I'm interested in what it looks like if we take the concept and apply it to society as a whole.
Following up on a previous post I discuss the possible rise of a new civic religion, starting with some stories about how what people feel comfortable signaling support for has changed.
Historically replacing one religion with another civic or otherwise has been accompanied by bloodshed and no small amount of violence. Will this time be similar?
My book reviews for the month of July (along with one podcast).
The Blade Itself (1 of 3 First Law Trilogy)
Hate Crime Hoax: How the Left is Selling a Fake Race War
The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics
Fall of Civilizations (Podcast)
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Wild at Heart Revised and Updated: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul (Religious)
A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History
The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumphs