The Pivotal Post

I n 1798, an Anglican scholar named Thomas Malthus suggested that humans used their ability to produce abundance not so much to better their lives but to increase the population. The number of people, he believed, was multiplying geometrically (1,2,4,8, 16, 32) whereas food resources were increasing arithmetically (1,2,3,4,5). Do the math as he did and there was the problem. Malthus advocated the need to reduce population growth to avoid catastrophe. Despite his unmet prediction, his ideas continue to have resonance in a world that has put its faith in technology.   Chart 1 S ince his death, the population has indeed grown exponentially. With the coming of the industrial revolution, humans figured out how to keep people alive, especially children, and soon one billion turned to seven (see chart 1). W hat Malthus didn’t count on was coming technologies that would radically increase the food supply, and the eventual slowing of population growth.  I nnova...

La Liberté Eugène Delacroix, 1830 T o better understand the various terms associated with liberal a bit of history helps. It is a word we all should know. C lassically the term liberal comes from the Latin "liberalis," translated to Old French, a word that eventually made its way into Middle English as Liber, a "free man." The word got associated with politics when used by "Age of Enlightenment," folks like Adam Smith, Jonh Locke and other thinkers from the British Isles.  T hose radical ideas about freedom initiated the French and American Revolutions in the late 18th century, the anti-slavery movements of the 19th century that swept the world and the American Civil War. Liberal Democracy, born through fits and starts, led the way to more universal freedoms... to women's suffrage, civil rights and all of the other 20th century social movements to follow. Famous Great Depression Image* L iberal democracy also laid the groundwork for ...

Paul Signac,  Portrait of  Félix Fénéon , 1890 B eing a writer is a highly individualistic and egotistical endeavor. It really is, and it can be both exilirating and painful. Here I am putting my knowledge and my thoughts out into the world in order to make a difference. Wow, what hubris! T he reason why I blog and post on facebook because I am looking for attention. Of course, let's be honest. Why else do people post?  Hey world! Here I am and I got something to say! But I also want people to challenge my hubris, my assumptions and claims. I looked to be humbled, see. There is value in creativity and in  adversity and you cannot have a worthy life without both. Freedom, balanced it must be. T his general effort in our society to sanitize life of adversity is wrong-headed and is leading to all kinds of grief. On the other hand, too much adversity grinds people down.When people are under the thumb of systematic oppression it is simply wrong and there is a mo...