America’s Silent Majority Woke Up and Roared: We Won’t Go Backwards Anymore — There’s been exactly one good thing that happened this miserable, eerie, dystopian decade: America came back to life. Also, I got a dog. But that’s more about me, I suppose. It’s a remarkable thing — and while I’ve discussed it comparatively recently, next to a world slinking backwards in fascism’s…

What It Means to (Really) Be on the Side of Civilization and Democracy — You can see, right about now, that so many of our societies are struggling. Mightily. From Italy to Sweden to Britain — very few are in rude health. Beset by fascism, nationalism, xenophobia, people scraping for survival, demagogues pointing the finger at scapegoats. Even America, a bright spot in this…

And What America’s Teaching the World About Breaking the Laws of History — We live in strange and perilous times. As if climate change and mass extinction weren’t enough, they’re accompanied by…the return of fascism to the global stage. Wave after wave of it pulses across the world, like civilization itself having a heart attack. What’s behind it? Take a hard look at…

(How) Brexit Sent Britain Into a Doom Loop of Socioeconomic Collapse — Right about now, you might be wondering: where does Britain go from here? The world is watching and wondering, shocked and bewildered. The answer to that question, after all, is relevant to us all — where does a dalliance with the far right lead? What happens when a nation puts…

Trump Was Temporary — But Brexit Is Forever — There’s something strangely inevitable happening in Britain. Now, a majority of Brits think Brexit was…a mistake. Brexit’s turned into Bregret, as they’re beginning to call it. In that, there are some profound lessons for a world turning, foolishly, desperately to the far right for salvation. How does it end? …

Why Inequality Is Our Fifth Civilizational Risk — Everyone, meet our civilization’s newest pathology: the crazy extreme right wing billionaire. Maybe even the crazy fascist billionaire, but hey, you be the judge of that. In this corner, we have the Cheeseball who Bought Twitter, who’s proceeded to cozy up to every kind of crazy extremist nutcase, people so…

How Hate Came to Permeate our Societies, And Why It’s Destroying Them From Within — When I think about what shape our civilization is — and our countries are — in, I often talk about Five Existential Threats. Climate change, mass extinction, underinvestment, inequality, and authoritarianism slash fascism. To those, though, I think we may need to add another: hate. Take the massacre in Colorado…

America’s Rejected the Far Right Democratically — So Now It’s Trying to Take Society by Force — I’m going to use a word I don’t use often, or lightly. Sinister. There’s a thread running through recent events, and it’s a sinister one. That thread goes like this. From Twitter to terrorism, the far right won’t take no for an answer. What do I mean by that? The…

Why We’re in an Age Where History’s Mistakes Are Repeating Themselves, Forever — Is it just me, or it’s been an extra dystopian few days? What do you see when you look at the world these days? Here’s one of the things I see: people, our civilization has a leadership problem — and it’s getting worse. Let’s review some of the wierd, even…