Against the destruction of free thought: Why only Ye can avert a Third World War and prevent a new Holocaust — some lessons from Hilberg, Arendt, Mearsheimer, et al.

‘Men have been found to resist the most powerful monarchs and to refuse to bow down before them, but few indeed have been found to resist the crowd, to stand up alone before misguided masses, to face their implacable frenzy without weapons and with folded arms to dare a no when a yes is demanded. … Continue reading Against the destruction of free thought: Why only Ye can avert a Third World War and prevent a new Holocaust — some lessons from Hilberg, Arendt, Mearsheimer, et al. →

The realist school: An emerging paradigm

First published on 14 June 2022. Sometimes, intellectual thought undergoes a rupture that cannot be stopped. It does not matter how much you resist the conceptual tsunami, or how far you run. It will tear down what you know, and force any remaining ideas to cluster around the victorious Noah’s ark of the God-given intellectual … Continue reading The realist school: An emerging paradigm →

Peace for all time: The enduring insights of Thomas Hobbes

Originally published on 24 September 2022. Seventeenth-century political theorist Thomas Hobbes has a paradoxical attitude to power. On the one hand, he thinks that 'the pursuit of power, after power' is the root and stem of 'Warre', of 'every man, against every man', leaving the 'life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short'. But … Continue reading Peace for all time: The enduring insights of Thomas Hobbes →

‘First Time’ and the albums

You were swift with your blade You lacked hesitation Your eyes were like oceans I fell till I drowned - First Time by Edmund Wilson As you may know, dear reader, my views on history and politics as expressed on this blog converge in a strange location or destination: music. And it is music that … Continue reading ‘First Time’ and the albums →

Update: Born

‘The old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born. Now is the time of monsters.’ — Antonio Gramsci It is nearly a year since the world premiere of my debut EP, ‘Born’. Since then, I have released across streaming platforms the debut single from that EP, ‘First Time’, and uploaded all … Continue reading Update: Born →

Ultratotalitarianism: The great evil of our times, and why we must fight it

Our era is characterised by a phenomenon I term ultratotalitarianism. It is the culmination of the logic of modernity, a long process of surpassing the unity of Christianity with capitalist anarchy, backed up by state authority. The dynamism of the market economy and the stability of the modern state constitute the two pillars of modern … Continue reading Ultratotalitarianism: The great evil of our times, and why we must fight it →

Mask Off: The demonisation of Kanye West — a very provisional, tentative thought piece

Disclaimer 1: Please have sympathy on my soul, dear reader. I know this world is unkind to heretics to whatever is fashionable nowadays, but I am not exactly fashionable, and I care not for the ‘views’ of media gurus or well-spoken sophists. I am an ex-student, a lonely soul, and — much more importantly, my … Continue reading Mask Off: The demonisation of Kanye West — a very provisional, tentative thought piece →

The uniqueness of genius

I’ve been thinking about genius. It is often said that genius is unique. But what does this mean? On the origins of genius: Plato and Aristotle in Raphael’s School of Athens. The uniqueness of a genius lies precisely, I argue, in their ability to see past their own uniqueness. While everyone else looks at the … Continue reading The uniqueness of genius →

The art of questioning: A complete set of predictions for 2023

I would like to give a systematic set of predictions — some general and abstract, some more precise and concrete — for the coming year. I make predictions not principally to make a ‘prophecy’ about the future. Rather, I wish to test, in a very loose way, my analysis of the present by extending current … Continue reading The art of questioning: A complete set of predictions for 2023 →

Yonder Yecialism? A constructive critique of Ye’s Clubhouse Interview

‘[T]he run in 24, if I can word it like that, will not be based on division and diversity but on unification. In America we will augment policy to align with the Bible to serve all Americans — no matter what their class, what their race, what their background. It’s about Jesus, love, happiness, and … Continue reading Yonder Yecialism? A constructive critique of Ye’s Clubhouse Interview →