Tag Archives: History
Understanding the Pentagon: Intent, Construction, and Development
Adjusted for inflation, The United States defense budget has multiplied by sixty over the last century. This article reflects on the development of the Department of Defense and the early impacts of America’s permanent wartime economy.
Would Enlightenment Philosophers Endorse Modern Capitalism?
Considering the past three centuries of economic development, how would Enlightenment philosophers critique modern capitalism? Has the West’s economic structure developed as they hoped? Would they approve of modern state-capitalism? These questions are crucial to uncovering the current applicability of Enlightenment ideals.
The Dilemmas of Authority and Contractarianism (Hobbes, 1651)
Who is worthy of governing? When should authority be questioned and obeyed? Is concentrated power destined to be corrupted? This article utilizes Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan (1651) to explore these questions and more.
Madison’s Fear of Pure Democracy
Among the first challenges of the new republic was balancing democracy and authority; an issue which continues to shape American politics today. James Madison, fearing an “excess of democracy”, proposed a system of modest popular participation alongside a clearly defined ruling class.
The Beginnings of World Civilization
Here, I summarize the crucial chapters of Wiesner-Hanks’ A History of World Societies (2018). By understanding humanity’s first steps towards modern civilization, we can acquire context to contemporary society and better realize our collective successes and failures.
Studying the Historical Communes of Paris and Barcelona
By utilizing primary sources of two influential socialist uprisings (The Paris Commune of 1871 and Revolutionary Catalonia in 1936) in conjunction with the ideas of philosophers Peter Kropotkin and George Orwell, this article explores the revolutionary values and objectives of collectivist anarchism.
