Society

Two patients. One incoherent medical system.

Why the Kleptocratic Nightmare Made Me Reconsider Elizabeth Warren

Silicon Valley’s final dream is a world without institutions. But what works for a startup doesn’t work for democracy

Explore the Black Panther Party’s original 1966 Ten‑Point Program by Huey P. Newton & Bobby Seale. Full text, historical context & key themes.

With apologies to Dorothy Thompson, whose 1941 essay in Harper’s, “Who Goes Nazi?” remains a worthwhile read on the cultural archetypes of who is drawn to fascism, and who would never go down such …

If your chief goal is to find a middle ground with the far right on social issues, you’ll end up condoning its values—just ask Keir Starmer.

And how everyone else can get rich too.

Hello premium customers! Feel free to get in touch at ez@betteroffline.com if you're ever feeling chatty. And if you're not one yet, I'm sorry that I paywalled this, but it took me so much effort and drove me a little insane. Back in September 2024 I wrote about

Why the Most Important Political Philosophy of the Last 300 Years Is the One Nobody Understands

Our systems are collapsing, let's design what comes next. Join our salon of utopian thinkers to reinvent governance, reimagine capitalism, and architect a better future. Click to read The Elysian, by Elle Griffin, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Political parties have locked the public out of parliament. Citizens' assemblies are keys we need to unlock democracy.

Some fine and welcomed news from the Pacific Northwest

Freedom, liberty and independence are human rights. But they depend on responsibility. Responsibility to others, to our future, to the community. Responsibility for our actions and our choices. The…

The strongest defense can be summed up in just two words.

Not-my-favorite-guy-in-the-world Matt Yglesias talking about what Republicans actually mean when they talk about cutting Medicaid: I think you could see there’s a mismatch in the way Mike Johnson characterizes this. He talks about: We’ve got all these able-bodied young men who are sitting on the couch all day

While the Professional Moderates Clutch Their Pearls

I see three levels at which we could try to fix cultural drift: specific cultural trends, cultural evolution process parameters, and meta mechanism/institutions.

As generative artificial intelligence tools continue to proliferate, pushback against the technology and its negative impacts grows stronger.

A repost from the Noahpinion archives, with a few updates.

We have to decide which story we believe in.

On this Fourth of July, we declare independence again

A couple weeks ago I linked to a conversation that discussed how social media services can make us think that everything is a 50/50 issue. It also gives us the impression that the angriest, mots extreme voices represent everyone on either side of every issue. This week, Hank Green

Everything else about it

How the Oligarchic Rejection of Noblesse Oblige Reveals the Battle for the Soul of Civilization

Here I go again, streaming my conscious self, and speaking to you in the form of my written confession. I am here to reveal myself. Or perhaps I am only thinking once more, out loud, and with no li…

President Trump’s decision to strike Iran has sparked debate in Congress over the executive branch’s ability to take military action without authorization. The strikes Trump ordered last week were in line with recent precedent. But some critics and supporters alike are calling for restrictions to his ability to take further action in Iran. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the debate ill-timed, and openly questioned the constitutionality of the War Powers Act. That act requires the president to seek Congressional approval before declarations of war. Is this another battleground in the fight over legislative checks and balances?Trump’s assistance with a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran led to a warm reception at a NATO security summit later in the week. The summit was planned to discuss the war in Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Iran, and other alliance concerns. Much of the focus landed on the ceasefire and an agreement by members to commit 5% of their GDP to defense. The new spending mark was seen as a major concession to Trump, who had threatened since his first term to leave the alliance if it wasn’t met. But was the decision made more for self-preservation than appeasement?Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, won the Democratic primary in New York City’s mayoral race. Progressives are pointing to his victory as a beacon for Democrats nationwide to push further to the left. Does that ignore the fact that he ran against the scandal-ridden former governor Andrew Cuomo?

Back in the days, before child labor laws were introduced and before it became conventional wisdom that no young person could develop proper character

Above, Joe Rogan raises a point of contention about climate change, pretending to have read about a study in The Washington Post that, he says, raises questions about human caused climate change.In…