Ideas in Political and Social Science

The general contours of my thinking on poli sci and socially oriented philosophy is articulated in an essay, Innovism: A Primer, that I first drafted in 1999, and have nipped and tucked from time to time in the years since. Alongside it is an experiment in legal constitution design, The Constitution of Innovism. These both describe a moderate philosophical approach and political system with various reforms to try to contain the excesses of plutocracy, democracy, capitalism, the welfare state, oligarchism and monopolism, narrow selfishness, etc. There's plenty in it for anyone to like, and surely something in it to make most people cranky, but of course that's what reform looks like. I haven't updated the online version of the experimental constitution in many years, but I've continued jotting down ideas and hope to get the online version updated soon.

In 2005, I wrote an online book, Returning to Eden: How an ancient religious myth inspired a modern political movement, that all these years later still has some neat ideas in it. It's a polemic on utopianism.

Back in 2012, I discovered a book by Joseph A. Tainter, The Collapse of Complex Societies, first published in 1988. It is a fascinating read, highly recommended!