Category: sociology

Culture, Economics, sociologyLeave a comment

People Want Economic Change but Have Stopped Trusting Governments to Deliver It

Colin Henderson

While two-thirds say that democracy is the best way to govern, four in ten say a strong leader would serve their country better. Kate Pickett Back in 2009, when Richard Wilkinson and I published The Spirit Level, our aim was to demonstrate through hard data what communities across the world felt intuitively: that deep economic inequality tears apart our social fabric. It erodes trust, undermines health and wellbeing, and divides us from each other. Over a decade later, the diagnosis has not changed, but it seems the public’s patience with politicians and policymakers to act on this evidence is running out. … Continue reading People Want Economic Change but Have Stopped Trusting Governments to Deliver It

sociologyLeave a comment

The Sadness of Being the ‘Last Man’

Colin Henderson

​ Francis Fukuyama has long been considered a naive triumphalist. He now wants to set the record straight. Gal BeckermanSeptember 9, 2026 Francis Fukuyama never promised us we’d be happy. To be fair to the many readers who thought otherwise, The End of History and the Last Man, his famous 1992 book, did give off a whiff of utopia, trumpeting a post–Cold War world in which liberal democracy had vanquished competing political systems and everyone could lie back on their affordable chaise longues and raise a glass to the expiration of all strife and struggle. “Several” people each week still ask … Continue reading The Sadness of Being the ‘Last Man’

AI, Business Models, sociologyLeave a comment

Ecosystems Revisited: The Pressure Behind The Shift

Colin Henderson

A woman’s mother has a fall. What begins as a medical event becomes, within a week, something considerably larger. There are appointments to arrange and a pharmacy to visit twice a month. Her own working hours change, which changes her income, which changes what she can comfortably cover this month. Transportation turns into a recurring problem rather than a one-time one. Her employer needs to know something about the situation, though not everything. Her insurer needs a different set of facts. The hospital needs a third. Meanwhile her son still has practice on Tuesdays and a school fee coming due. … Continue reading Ecosystems Revisited: The Pressure Behind The Shift

banking, sociology

Bank dropped Churchill after being told he was ‘elitist’

Colin Henderson

Historical figures such as Turing and Austen replaced on notes after research concludes they are ‘contentious and divisive’ Emma Taggart Economics Reporter. Nick Gutteridge Chief Political Correspondent 05 June 2026 8:00pm BST The Bank of England axed historical figures such as Winston Churchill from banknotes after being told they were “elitist and divisive”, The Telegraph can reveal. Research commissioned by the Bank concluded that figures such as Churchill, Alan Turing and Jane Austen were “contentious and not representative of the UK’s cultural and natural diversity”. Officials were advised to replace portraits with images of nature on banknotes because historical figures represented “a backward-looking vision of … Continue reading Bank dropped Churchill after being told he was ‘elitist’

banking, Economics, sociology

Ancient Rome Survived High Inflation – Bloomberg

Colin Henderson

I came across this wonderful piece on inflation and beating it. Nothing is new in the world. Source: Bloomberg 2024 – Bloomberg membership required. _________________________________________________________ Ancient Rome Survived High Inflation. We Can, Too There was more to life in the empire than gore, sex and succession. The economic challenges look similar to our own — with a big dose of brutality.  July 2, 2024 at 3:00 PM EDT By Daniel Moss Daniel Moss is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian economies. Previously, he was executive editor for economics at Bloomberg News. Worried that inflation is coming down too gradually? The Romans had a … Continue reading Ancient Rome Survived High Inflation – Bloomberg

AGI, Business Models, sociology2 Comments

The book “Dark Side of Modernity”

Colin Henderson

has been analyzed by several key social theorists who highlight its dual nature and contradictions: Major Theoretical Perspectives Max Weber Georg Simmel Shmuel Eisenstadt Talcott Parsons Jeffrey Alexander Zygmunt Bauman The common thread among these theorists is their recognition of modernity’s Janus-faced character, simultaneously promising progress while bringing suffering[1][4]. Sources[1] The Dark Side of Modernity – Yale Sociology https://sociology.yale.edu/publications/dark-side-modernity%5B2%5D [PDF] the meaning of modernity – John Dwyer https://jdwyer.info.yorku.ca/files/2015/10/DWYER_MODERN_AGE_LECTURES.pdf%5B3%5D [PDF] Bauman and contemporary sociology https://www.asau.ru/files/pdf/1632927.pdf%5B4%5D The Dark Side of Modernity | Wiley https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Dark+Side+of+Modernity-p-9780745665061%5B5%5D The Dark Side of Modernity Theme in Beyond Good and Evil https://www.litcharts.com/lit/beyond-good-and-evil/themes/the-dark-side-of-modernity%5B6%5D [PDF] Kara Abdolmaleki – ERA – … Continue reading The book “Dark Side of Modernity”

Geopolitics, sociology

The Dwindling Strategic Flame: Reviving Creative Defense Planning

Colin Henderson

Phillip Dolitsky August 14, 2024 “Strategy is the future of present decisions”- Garry Kasparov “Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.”- Savielly Tartakower Strategy and defense planning belong to the realm of the unknown. There is nothing as certain as the uncertainty of the future and yet all polities depend on their safety and survival by striving to meet the challenge of uncertainty. All nations must attempt, in the words of the late British strategist Colin Gray, “to get the biggest issues right enough” … Continue reading The Dwindling Strategic Flame: Reviving Creative Defense Planning

sociology

The Mind-Bending Reality of Non-Euclidean Social Networks

Colin Henderson

Non-Euclidean social networks have transformed human relationships, expanding connections but also introducing new forms of distance and loneliness. Online personas and algorithms further complicate authenticity and connection. Navigating this new reality requires intention and thoughtfulness. @westenburg https://medium.com/westenberg/the-mind-bending-reality-of-non-euclidean-social-networks-c1140ea9051c Continue reading The Mind-Bending Reality of Non-Euclidean Social Networks