Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
You can achieve wisdom in three ways. The first way is meditation. This is the most noble way. The second way is the way of imitation. This is the easiest and least satisfying way. Thirdly, there is the way of experience. This is the most difficult way. — Confucius (Tolstoy's Calendar of Wisdom for 29… Continue reading The Daily: 30 January 2023
I’ve been working on my notions of private property for weeks now. Actually, one might say that I’ve been trying to determine my relationship to the concept of owning property for much of my life, though the recent activity was inspired by ideas on property ownership presented in The Dawn of Everything. But this idea… Continue reading Tragedy of the Uncommons (Part 1)
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity David Graeber & David Wengrow Farrer, Straus & Giroux: 2021 The Dawn of Everything was a revelation. The “Everything” from the title may not exactly refer to our past, but it surely may refer to a sweeping revision of how we see ourselves. If so, it… Continue reading The Dawn of Everything: Review
I am reading Sarah Jaffe’s Work Won’t Love You Back. As you can imagine, this is rather like throwing gasoline on a flame. Jaffe’s book is packed with all the things I hate about our working world — or perhaps our not-working world — and she’s put names and vivid life stories with all the… Continue reading The Cult of Busy-ness
Lately, I've been musing on the debate between those who claim that human nature is inherently selfish and those who say that we are oriented to cooperation and care. I am beginning to think that this is artificial, that the drive to name our nature is, in fact, an urge to excuse our actions. It… Continue reading The Wednesday Word: 18 August 2021
We don’t like mothers very much in this country. Yes, this Sunday is Mother’s Day, but how do you feel about that? Obligated to make a phone call, a Zoom meeting? Did you slap your head, remembering that you need to get a card and mail it today if it’s to get there in time?… Continue reading Mother’s Day
Last week I talked about the things that you can do. I think a follow-up is necessary. These are the things we need to build into society, things we must do collectively. This list is just as important, but it will take much more work. Very likely a good deal of pain. These are problems… Continue reading Tear It Down to Build It Up
By My Solitary Hearth 