As blogs go this one has been around for a long time. It started a political/economic/financial blog back in 2009, but over the years I’ve written less and less about finance and politics and turned to topics I consider more important. As the amount of “red meat” has gone down, the readership hasn’t, and I’m grateful.
When I hear from readers, they usually give one of two reasons for liking the blog:
- It makes them feel less alone. Less like the crazy one. The Mississippi sized torrent of BS pouring thru most media will have you believing right is wrong, black is white, Covid is non airborne, Israel is humane and Russia is losing. The centrists are reasonable, the right is misguided, but the left is the true evil. Finding a place where the information stream isn’t full of shit and there are others who who seek the truth is a relief.
- They learn from it. Quite a few people have written to express their gratitude in having their world views and their expectations of what’s going to happen in the future change to something more realistic, and hopefully more humane.
As for myself, I try to write articles that interest me and which are at least one of interesting to readers, important for understanding the world, or useful to my readership.
Every year (except once when I forgot because I was in the hospital), I do an annual fundraiser. The money raised supports me so I can keep writing. You can subscribe or donate. If you value my writing and want to see more of it, I hope you will.
This year we’ve got four goals. Each unlocks a writing project. Subscriptions count as three times their nominal value.
At $4,000 I’ll do three book reviews. Barring serious illness, one in November, December and January. The first will be “India is Broken”, because no, Virginia, India is not going to be the next China. The second will be “The Invention of Capitalism,” about primitive accumulation: or how people were forced into factories, had their land stolen and so on. The third will be “Wealth and Democracy” by Kevin Phillips, one of the most important books I ever read.
At $7,000 I’ll do three more book reviews based on what I’m interested in at the time, again one a month. If you have nominees you’d like to see reviewed, feel free to suggest in comments.
At $10,000 I’ll write an article on the fundamental process which keeps society together, how it fails and renews and under what conditions it fails to renew.
At $13,000 I’ll write an article on the weaknesses of North American style police, and how a determined and ruthless opponent could take advantage of those weaknesses to rip them a new one.
Every dollar you give helps me. If you like my writing and you can afford to give (please don’t if you’re short yourself) I’d appreciate if you did.
Whip Randolph
Just donated $100. Thanks for all your work keeping up this blog. Both of the listed reasons-for-reading apply to me.
I request a review of One Disease, One Cure available free at 1disease-1cure.com. It actually addresses all the themes you listed – what holds societies together, police systems, wealth, democracy, and many others.
However, it addresses these themes for healthy cultures without rulers and unhealthy cultures with rulers – how do people people keep each other safe in a society without rulers, so they don’t need police/prisons? And how are police trained to protect the rulers, regardless the law, in unhealthy societies with rulers like the US/Russia/China/Canada/etc?
What keeps societies together when there are no rulers, and nobody forces anyone else to live in an unsatisfying way? And how are societies kept together with rulers?
How do humans of healthy cultures generate wealth that lasts generations and leaves each generation profoundly grateful for the wealth left by the previous ones? And how do they have governance that avoids factions and coercion, so the government actually (really!) responds to the will of the people? Multiple case studies highlight these patterns in detail.
I would feel very curious to hear your perspective on this.
Ian Welsh
Thanks Whip. Yes, I’ll make that #4, I was thinking of reviewing it anyway.
Geoff Dewan
Isn’t this the 2024 fundraiser (or are we trying to make upo for lost time)?
🙂
Jake
I’m a monthly subscriber. How do you count those? I just retired, and though I’ve subscribed for a couple of years, the funds have more of an impact now as my income is about half what it was. Still going for another year as you make worthwhile contributions.
Ian Welsh
Jake, I’ll add them in at the end if we need them to make the tiers! Thank you, but if it’s a burden, please don’t.
Geoff: woops!