49. Upward sympathy – a key manipulation

One of the most oppressive aspects of many economic systems has been the manipulation of masses to sympathize with ruling elites. This essay explores the curious social phenomenon in which those who objectively are the least needy often receive the most attention. In the 1952 classic The old man and the Sea, the author Hemmingway…

48. Who will take the danger of robots and artificial intelligence serious?

The political and societal reaction to robots and artificial intelligence is developing far slower than the technology. This essay explores the debate and asks why so many people seem unable to take this extinction level danger serious. Much of the recent public discussion about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence has been laughably naïve, not because…

47. The epidemic of fraud: a case study

Avoiding scams has become an everyday part of adult life. This essay exposes one such scams by sharing results from our study of fraudulent loans, and discusses how citizens deserve better protection from such practices. Scammers are the new gangsters of late capitalism. You could open the ‘trash’ folder of your email right now, and…

46. The Market Failure of Scientific Knowledge

This text discusses how access to scientific knowledge is scandalously unaffordable to the vast majority of humans, hindering public debate and increasing global inequalities. Human knowledge belongs to the world. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 27 includes the right to “share in scientific advancement and its benefits”. The logic is that while…

45. Affordable housing in the 21st century: two proposals

The increasingly brutal gab between social expectations and the reality of obtaining a house in larger cities should make us rethink housing policy. This essay defends two concrete proposals: the development of social rental housing and incorporating notaries into the state. One problem that plagues Millennials and generation Z in particular is the relative unaffordability…

42. Nutrition as a political issue

What kills more Mexicans: coke or coca? While we are being mass poisoned, many rush forward to defend their favorite snack against regulation. Rather than discussing lifestyles, the political and economical sides of nutrition should be object of debate. The perspective of nutrition can be used to critically analyze society, exposing how healthy food is…

41. Abrazos y balazos: strengthening the Mexican army

Mexico paradoxically has one of the most pacifist and most active armies in the world. Yet the army must be updated to function within a changed security context. That does not just require a close relationship with the population, but also 30mm bullets. The Mexican military paradox works as follows: Mexican foreign policy avoids military…

40. The decay of reality: on our hyper-tolerance for fake

This essay explains how we normalized living in a material and social environment that almost constantly lies to us and deceives us, and reflects on what it means to have a societal model that requires so many things to be fake. Romantic authors have complained for centuries that society became ruled by the ‘tyranny of…

39. When the opposition becomes only opposition

This essay explains why it is bad for democracy that almost the entire center and right flank of Mexican representatives are being transformed into a homogenous group of opposition, and only opposition. Much has been written about the need of a strong opposition, and their function in checking and challenging those in power. Yet given…

38. Is a left nationalism possible?

Nationalism is commonly associated with the political ‘right’, yet as a philosophy it is sufficiently empty in terms of social and economic stances to allow other ideologies to mix in elements of it. In this essay we explore how a Left nationalism could look like. Nationalism as an ideology of the political (far) right has…