Imagine that this is your life story: You are born in Africa, possibly in Ethiopia or perhaps Chad, but as a child you are taken by Arab slavers and sold in Constantinople to the Sultan of Turkey, before long catching the eye of a Russian diplomat and spy, who acquires you and smuggles you out […]
Gannibal, “dark star of the Enlightenment” Read More »
On this day, I am thankful in a way that history puts in perspective. Three quotations: From William Manchester, A World Lit Only By Fire, on life in medieval Europe: “Because most peasants lived and died without leaving their birthplace, there was seldom need for any tag beyond One-Eye, or Roussie (Redhead), or Bionda (Blondie),
When did slavery end? Intellectual historian Zeev Sternhell makes the following observation: “But it is above all the French Revolution that is overlooked. Slavery was in fact abolished by the French Revolution. The slaves, like the Jews, were liberated, and for the first time in history, all men living within the frontiers of a single
The French Revolution and the ending of slavery Read More »
Reprising this from when I read Deirdre McCloskey’s fascinating, intriguing, and wonderfully learned The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce (University of Chicago Press, 2006). Early on McCloskey cites three statistics about progress between 1800 and now: Wealth: “The amount of goods and services produced and consumed by the average person on the
Why life is 255 times better now than in 1800 Read More »
I debated University of Queensland professor John Quiggin at a wonderfully full auditorium in Brisbane, Australia. Quiggin argued that postmodernism is a right-wing phenomenon, as evidenced by climate-change denialism and the presidency of Donald Trump. I argued the negative. An hour of debate, followed by audience questions. Also a brief comment from John Anderson, former
Debate: Is Postmodernism Right-Wing or Left-Wing? Read More »
How different are Stephen Hicks’s and Jordan Peterson’s views on the origins of the Enlightenment? Was Christianity essential or a hindrance?
“A difference with Jordan Peterson on Enlightenment foundations” [Five-minute excerpt] Read More »
A new episode of my podcast series, produced by Possibly Correct out of Toronto. Conservative nationalist Yoram Hazony makes eight claims about the Enlightenment. One is mostly true, and seven are badly false or are grains of truth badly exaggerated. Audio: Youtube. Soundcloud. Transcription: Will be available soon. Sources: Yoram Hazony, “What Was the Enlightenment?” Prager
Hazony Attacks the Enlightenment [Open College] Read More »
“Basic food items in America have become almost eight times cheaper relative to unskilled labor over the last 100 years.”
Cost of a Bible in 1455 compared to today Read More »