What I'm reading (declinism)

'"Collapsologie", constructing an idea of how things fall apart'. Harrison Stetler, New York Review of Books.

But if one delves into the texts of these writers, and listens to their castigation of the modern world, it’s hard not to get the impression that a lingering form of anticipation—not to say, outright excitement—lies beneath their prophecies of collapse...

'How "Big Law" Makes Big Money'. Adam Tooze, New York Review Of Books.

On the one hand, the law codes the original violence of enclosure, such that something that was everyone’s becomes one person’s legally protected private property in perpetuity. On the other hand, the law is the conjurer of a delusion. By creating securities out of debt, the law preys on our desire to believe that something is ours that is not real at all, that value can be created ex nihilo.

'College-Educated Voters Are Ruining American Politics'. Eitan Hersh, The Atlantic.

...political hobbyists have harmed American democracy and would do better by redirecting their political energy toward serving the material and emotional needs of their neighbors. People who have a personal stake in the outcome of politics often have a better understanding of how power can and should be exercised—not just at the polls, once every four years, but person to person, day in and day out.

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