Category Archives: International Politics

Posts that deal with issues current in international (non-New Zealand) politics

Of bewildered herds

The oldest war in history is that between the people and those who have hoarded power to themselves. Predictably – perhaps inevitably – the latter eventually gain a sense of entitlement to the power they have hoarded. In days gone by … Continue reading

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A brief reflection on conspiracies

John Key has responded to Hager’s claims saying: “So Nicky Hager says we’re a tax haven, well with the greatest respect, Nicky Hager is a left-wing conspiracy theorist.” Newstalk ZB, 9 May, 2016 “Last time he came out with all this … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Economics, Freedom, International Politics, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

On the very idea of ISIS – Part II

In the first part of this post I argued that beliefs held by individuals are not a good basis on which to analyse geopolitical events. Both beliefs and their associated collective-level behaviours are the result of other forces operating in the environment … Continue reading

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On the very idea of ISIS – Part I

The very idea of wanting to explain a practice–for example, the killing of the priest-king–seems wrong to me. All that Frazer does is to make them plausible to people who think as he does. It is very remarkable that in … Continue reading

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Why Syrian refugees?

There’s two aspects to the Syrian refugee crisis that are worth thinking about a bit more deeply. That’s because both of them represent something of a departure from past behaviour. The first is the question which a few commentators, such … Continue reading

Posted in Human Nature, Human Wellbeing, International Politics, Media, New Zealand Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ten Degrees of Difference: Is it all just a tragic misunderstanding?

I’d like to thank Walenty Lisek at The Life of the Mind blog for the detailed response to my post on the Tragic Vision. I’ll try to reciprocate as best I can with ten points in response. I should start, however, … Continue reading

Posted in Free Market, Freedom, Human Nature, Human Wellbeing, International Politics, Military | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

‘Mother of harlots and earth’s abominations’

Saturday Morning on Radio New Zealand National featured Doug Saunders – journalist and author – talking about his book ‘Arrival Cities: How the largest Migration in History is Reshaping Our World‘. You can go here for the link to the … Continue reading

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