In the fallout from Russell Brand’s advocacy of egalitarianism socialism, some folks complained about the attention paid to him, arguing that really it is the most exploited and most oppressed that make social change. Others pushed back, Doug Henwood leading the charge, arguing that, as an empirical matter, social movements have often been comprised of… Continue reading Elitist theory of social change and the DREAMers
Author: Matt Bruenig
Policy Shop Weekly Digest: Social Security, Tech Bros, Mill
I had 3 posts over at Demos’ Policy Shop this week. Here is a rundown with links: Get Ready For Some Totally Confused Social Security Discussions. Excerpt: In non-money terms, our ability to support retired people is a function of how much stuff the currently-working are producing. It has nothing to do with how much… Continue reading Policy Shop Weekly Digest: Social Security, Tech Bros, Mill
The poors and writing for free on the internet
A number of people who write words on the internet talk a lot about people writing things for free. If you are someone who writes things on the internet, it makes sense to talk about such things. It’s like how people subscribe to trade magazines and talk about issues in their industry. Moreover, people always… Continue reading The poors and writing for free on the internet
Policy Shop (Bi-)Weekly Digest: Merit, Heroes, Poverty, Poverty
I missed last week’s digest somehow. I had 4 posts over at Demos’ Policy Shop this last couple of weeks. Here is a rundown with links: No One Actually Cares About Meritocracy. Excerpt: You can’t live in the United States and not be acquainted with at least a handful of extremely prominently legacy cases who,… Continue reading Policy Shop (Bi-)Weekly Digest: Merit, Heroes, Poverty, Poverty
Almost all charity arguments are analytically confused
I’ve written on charity stuff before. When it comes to economic issues, I prefer justice to charity. I prefer that we arrange our distributive institutions to achieve a fair distribution, not allow unfair distributions to happen that we then maybe ameliorate through private transfers. I think Oscar Wilde’s argument on this front is the most… Continue reading Almost all charity arguments are analytically confused