Category Archives: progress

No Necessary Nations

Posted on Saturday 12 July 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Stephan Marche on how there are no necessary nations, and no permanent global order; Judges, appointed both by Republicans and Democrats, speak out against the Trump administration; Heather Cox Richardson identifies one key failure in the Texas floods, the result … Continue reading →

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David Brooks on Alasdair MacIntyre and How We Got to Where We Are

Posted on Tuesday 8 July 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

One item today. A long piece from David Brooks, trying to understand how we got here, given history. The Atlantic, David Books, 8 Jul 2025: Why Do So Many People Think That Trump Is Good?, subtitled “The work of the moral … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Human Nature, Politics, progress | Comments Off on David Brooks on Alasdair MacIntyre and How We Got to Where We Are

Academic Freedom, Good Citizens, and Moving Forward

Posted on Tuesday 6 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Alan Lightman on academic freedom; Alan Lightman and Martin Rees on how scientists can be good citizens; Rewatching Conclave, and recalling two key quotes, about certainty, and moving forward. – – – The very idea of academic freedom, of freedom … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, progress, Religion, Science, Social Progress | Comments Off on Academic Freedom, Good Citizens, and Moving Forward

Human Rights, and Those Who Would Restrict Them

Posted on Wednesday 11 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s been 76 years since the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in America, conservatives prevent or keep trying to reverse many of those rights; Example of their latest bugaboo: transgenders; How Trump’s cabinet picks would please Putin, whose … Continue reading →

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There Is Always Long Term Progress and Short Term Retreat

Posted on Thursday 14 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

An essay that proposes that the idea of progress is a myth; I disagree; Quick takes on politics, and crackpots. OK, I can’t help but follow the political news, but for today’s post I’m sinking links about that to the … Continue reading →

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Lessons and Narratives

Posted on Friday 8 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Everyone has theories and lessons to be drawn from the election results; Robert Reich rejects several and offers his own; The focus on the current economy is just another example of short-term thinking, at the expense of bigger issues; Disinformation … Continue reading →

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Appropriate Terminology

Posted on Tuesday 29 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Several good items published today. We’re stuck in the Trump Loop because we can’t accept that sociopaths exist; Steven Pinker with data that says the country is *not* ‘dying’; Another piece about psychological “blind spots” and how to counter them; … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Politics, progress | Comments Off on Appropriate Terminology

Examining The Techno-Humanist Manifesto

Posted on Saturday 24 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a piece that challenges my challenge to the assumption, especially in America, than more is better, that the economy must always expand, that the population should continue to increase indefinitely. My point has been that this literally cannot continue … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Philosophy, progress | Comments Off on Examining The Techno-Humanist Manifesto

Far, Far Better Thing?

Posted on Monday 22 July 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

So this is the week that President Joe Biden, under fire by everyone since his lame debate performance last month (which I wrote about here), stepped down from his candidacy for a second term as president. This is virtually unprecedented … Continue reading →

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Progress and Retreat

Posted on Thursday 2 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

A reading from Steven Pinker, about progress the MAGA folks are reacting against; Double standards about Trump and presidential immunity; J.D. Vance and protesters; DeSantis and woke banks; the National Day of Prayer; another Republican taking advantage of a bill … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, progress, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Progress and Retreat