Clans, States, and Individual Liberty
We know that clan-based societies grow more liberal and less violent after they develop states, but would state-based societies grow less liberal if a decentralized order was to emerge?
Tagged: Jonathan Haidt
Government: Once Necessary, but Not Inevitable
Whether arising from the direct reduction of violence through the state’s capacity as the keeper of order, or as an accidental adaptation built on a tendency for the strong to exploit the weak, the rise of the state is associated a reduction in violence and increase in conditions that are favorable for trade and growth. At a time when the milk of human morality was only reserved for one’s closest kin, the reduction in violence brought on by the brute force of the state allowed for the development of commerce and culture that has since made the state irrelevant.
When Science Looks Like Religion
Is all “science” created the same? In fields that lack mechanisms to encourage diversity of opinion and discourage emotional attachment to the subject of inquiry, their practitioners run the risk of being guided more by their biases than by the scientific method.
A Race of Storytellers
Storytelling is one of the most distinct characteristics of our species, and we are often blind to it. The Internet will not improve our ability to arrive at accurate stories about reality.
![[Miss Genevieve Ebbets, youngest daughter of Charley Ebbets, throws first ball at opening of Ebbets Field (baseball)] (LOC)](http://theumlaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/miss_genevieve_ebbets_youngest_daughter_of_charley_ebbets_throws_first_ball_at_opening_of_ebbets_field_baseball_loc-150x100.jpg)
Why Most Women Don’t Want to be Libertarians (Yet)
The perennial problem of the male-skewed gender ratio within the libertarian movement may not be as perplexing or as unique as it first appears. To understand why so few women identify as libertarian, we need to understand the social trade-offs that they face when publicly supporting any radical ideology. Fortunately, this is one problem that is probably solving itself.
