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The Scholar's Stage

The Scholar's Stage
More on Xi Jinping’s Industrial Drive + London Meet Up A few items of interest to my readers: First, at the end of last month I appeared on the German...
8 months ago
28
8 months ago
A few items of interest to my readers: First, at the end of last month I appeared on the German Marshall Fund's China Global podcast to discuss the CPC's current techno-industrial drive. You can listen to the full thing on Simplecast, Apple Podcast, or in the embed below:
The Scholar's Stage
Science Proceeds One Question at a Time MIDWAY through his 900 page history of biology, zoologist Ernst Mayr considers the problem posed by...
a month ago
21
a month ago
MIDWAY through his 900 page history of biology, zoologist Ernst Mayr considers the problem posed by Alfred Wallace. Wallace was a contemporary of Charles Darwin who independently developed a theory of speciation by means of natural selection. By the time Wallace came on the scene...
The Scholar's Stage
Observations From India In November 2024, I traveled to India as part of a delegation hosted by the India Foundation. The...
a month ago
20
a month ago
In November 2024, I traveled to India as part of a delegation hosted by the India Foundation. The foundation is a part of the new nationalist establishment steering Indian society. As they see things, India’s relationship with America has been mediated by hostile parties for too...
The Scholar's Stage
Dionysus Against the Daoists IN WESTERN PHILOSOPHY AND AESTHETICS a contrast is sometimes made between the Dionysian and the...
4 months ago
19
4 months ago
IN WESTERN PHILOSOPHY AND AESTHETICS a contrast is sometimes made between the Dionysian and the Apollonian. Made famous by Nietzsche, this schema was first used to describe the thought and art of Ancient Greece. On the Apollonian end we have all that is rational, intentional,...
The Scholar's Stage
The Silicon Valley Canon: On the Paıdeía of the American Tech Elite I often draw a distinction between the political elites of Washington DC and the industrial elites...
6 months ago
12
6 months ago
I often draw a distinction between the political elites of Washington DC and the industrial elites of Silicon Valley with a joke: in San Francisco reading books, and talking about what you have read, is a matter of high prestige. Not so in Washington DC. In Washington people...
The Scholar's Stage
Washington DC is Not a Popularity Contest IN 2009 PAUL GRAHAM WROTE A THOUGHTFUL ESSAY titled “Cities and Ambition.” There he proposes that a...
4 months ago
9
4 months ago
IN 2009 PAUL GRAHAM WROTE A THOUGHTFUL ESSAY titled “Cities and Ambition.” There he proposes that a great city is defined by the sort of ambitions it kindles—or perhaps more accurately, the sort of ambitious it gathers. As Graham puts it:
The Scholar's Stage
Republican Debates on China: A Political Compass MANY HAVE TRIED to pin Trump to Heritage’s “Project 2025.” The Trump campaign has not only refused...
3 months ago
7
3 months ago
MANY HAVE TRIED to pin Trump to Heritage’s “Project 2025.” The Trump campaign has not only refused to endorse Project 2025—they have refused to endorse any detailed policy plan whatsoever. Trump prefers to keep his options open. One unanticipated benefit of this approach is that...
The Scholar's Stage
Uber is a Poor Replacement for Utopia Two items of interest passed through my feeds this week. The first is the podcast Marc Andreesen and...
7 months ago
6
7 months ago
Two items of interest passed through my feeds this week. The first is the podcast Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz released to explain why they are endorsing Trump for president. The second is an evocative and viral internet advertisement for careersbuilttolast.com, a slick...
The Scholar's Stage
Five Fundamentals of Chinese Grand Strategy Last month Civic Future invited me to join a panel at their annual policy forum. The topic: what the...
6 months ago
6
6 months ago
Last month Civic Future invited me to join a panel at their annual policy forum. The topic: what the United Kingdom should do about China. As I am neither a British citizen nor an expert in British affairs, I thought it impolitic to lecture my hosts on how they should be...
The Scholar's Stage
The Euro-American Split (I): Dread Possibility THERE ARE DECADES WHEN possibility is constrained in a narrow frame. The terrain has been surveyed,...
yesterday
4
yesterday
THERE ARE DECADES WHEN possibility is constrained in a narrow frame. The terrain has been surveyed, boundaries have been laid, and rules have been established. In such an age there is still room for high drama: The decisive round of a boxing match draws the eye despite the...
The Scholar's Stage
Patronage vs. Constituent Parties (Or Why Republican Party Leaders Matter More Than Democratic Ones) The Republican and Democratic parties are not the same: power flows differently within them. The two...
7 months ago
2
7 months ago
The Republican and Democratic parties are not the same: power flows differently within them. The two big political news items of this week—the happenings of the Republican National Convention and the desperate attempts of many Democrats to replace their candidate before their own...