Writings on the wall

If society is in tune with human proclivities it works better, because people enjoy what they do. You only have to look at small boys playing “hunting”, or notice the difference between the incentives necessary to get people to sit in an office shuffling papers compared with those required to get people to dance and [...]

Much of this has a European focus, and I apologise for that, especially because colonialism and its devastating effect on the world are consequently not given proper attention. The focus of the article is narrow and designed as a contrast to the situation described in Part 1 - Ancient Economics. By the way, I’m no [...]

This article is the first in a series. I’m leading up to something and it takes quite a long time to get there, but it’s generally about my idea that people are far less self-interested than it appears.

NB:
In the following I have used the term “traditional culture” to refer to the ancient and complex social [...]

All the drowning children.
The world is full of ways in which thoughtful and compassionate people have been able to find ways to help those in need, transforming lives of poverty and desperation.

The Fred Hollows Foundation, for example, trains local eye surgeons to perform simple cataract operations which allow otherwise blind people throughout the developing world [...]

A touching scene from a television documentary this evening: a family celebrates orthodox Easter in procession with candles. They stop at intervals, shielding the candles from wind, as the priest intones the ritual. The child’s face shows boredom but he’s comfortable in the traditional environment - the bosom of a hundred generations of his family.
It [...]