So, the us will blockade the Hormuz straights in order to unblock it. #nofightinginthewarroom

Arendt on Toxic Masculinity and Imperialism open.substack.com/pub/digressi...

On Schmitt and Hobbes on Friendship (with some Strauss) open.substack.com/pub/digressi...

Good post today. I just taught Schmitt this spring for the first time in ages, and I was very much struck by the fact that for all the attention he places on "enemies," there is virtually no attention whatsoever paid to "friends." Indeed, it's a massive oversight in the book. And also revealing.

Teresa Bejan visits us in Amsterdam.

I am beginning to understand the significance of the jury system

On Schmitt and Hobbes on Friendship (with some Strauss) open.substack.com/pub/digressi...

If you want to destroy AI, every academic traveler just needs create an AI agent designed to get you your travel reimbursement come what may, and it will go up against the procurement department’s AI agent set on denying you, and the two will fight in endless epicycles until the cloud melts down.

He didn't even mention the one true logic view

Does anyone have a suggestion for a reading about contemporary imperialism for advanced undergraduates (who have read quite a bit of theories of imperialism)? #asking4mysyllabus

Hobson on the Way Imperialism awakens Sub-Altern Nationalism open.substack.com/pub/digressi...

Today’s latest Virtual Sentiments episode is with @samuel-bagg.bsky.social on his excellent book on how democracy helps us fight state capture. I’ve posted the episode and some updated thoughts talking about the DOW vs Anthropic contract dispute at my Substack open.substack.com/pub/kristenc...

The dismal science re-embraces the cunning of history.

Hobson on the Way Imperialism awakens Sub-Altern Nationalism open.substack.com/pub/digressi...

Reading this remarkable book by @michelamassimi.bsky.social Only just realising what a big deal it is: novel and profoundly erudite accounts of perspective, phenomena, models... All 👌 Plus the style manages to balance gutsy and respectful to predecessors (something I often mess up). Go read it

This is very nicely done

The 250th anniversary of the Wealth of Nations symposium continues: week 5, Book V. '“Very difficult, perhaps altogether impossible”: Smith’s political science,' by me. oll.libertyfund.org/publications...

Silicon sampling can replace voting and scientific consensus formation, too. And it will settle the debate over pan-psychism.

Clearly that's tacitus

The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas is actually a really great short story that suffers if you _just_ reduce it to the utilitarian thought experiment embodied by the person of the child.

It would be funny if AI slop destroys citation indices and makes personalized blog posts more important.

We found out quickly enough.

Spinoza peeps: anyone read Peter Winch's *Spinoza on Ethics and Understanding*? Comments also in DM welcome.

On Shklar and Viner on Enlightenment anarchy (thank you @Glory Liu); with passing references to @samuelmoyn.bsky.social and Talmon; digressionsimpressions.substack.com/p/on-shklar-...

On Shklar and Viner on Enlightenment anarchy (thank you @Glory Liu); with passing references to @samuelmoyn.bsky.social and Talmon; digressionsimpressions.substack.com/p/on-shklar-...

I love trains but it is so moronic that a decade after brexit they can't make it more streamlined

The train should be easier than a plane. But it more expensive and more of a hassle despite being a 25 minute walk from my home and/or office. Basically you stand in line for 75 minutes and people get stressed because it is not evident you will be let on the train. #bottlenecks Amsterdam-->London

Expanding on this: one of the things that Good Trek gets right is competence porn - it's very satisfying to watch skillfull professionals carrying out valuable tasks they care about with high competence. Tuvok is the character in Voyager who most often hits that particular beat.

What war crime, I wonder did Gen. George refuse to carry out?

Jeff Bezos' Washington Post editorial board endorsed Pam Bondi as a "qualified" and "serious" pick for Attorney General. Nowhere in the endorsement did they mention that she's a former Amazon lobbyist. Another reminder that billionaire control of our media is a threat to democracy.

The more I learn of Wilhelm II's decision making the less I feel our moment is unprecedented.

The world is divided between those who think Bruno de Finetti solved the problem of induction and those who don't think that.

It's kind of amusing that in theories of the firm, the 'Chicago' approach a la Coase emphasizes transaction costs & the 'Marxist' approach a la Hilferding emphasizes risk/portfolio management.