book review

Review of “The End of the Free Market” by Ian Bremmer

The title of this book, The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War between States and Corporations? (by Ian Bremmer, 2010, published by Penguin), could have been, “Alternatives to the Free Market”, or “Challenges to…”, or “Competitions to the Free Market”, or something along those lines. The book is organized with reference to the distinction between free market capitalism and command economy, and then he places the third approach “state capitalism” in between…

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book review

Review of “The New World Economy” (R. C. Epping)

The New World Economy: A Beginner’s Guide; Demystifying Everything from AI to Bitcoins to Unicorns and Generation Z (by Randy Charles Epping, 2020, Vintage), promises to be a beginner’s guide in the sense that it defines or clarifies a set frequently used words and concepts, which are part of the current discourse about world economy. (terms like: trade wars, isolationism, digital economy, sharing economy, blockchains, cryptocurrencies, etc.). The proliferation of these terms is happening at…

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book review Psychoanalysis

Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life (Adam Phillips)

If you are interested in discussing the book, Missing Out, by Adam Phillips, and if you’re free this weekend, consider joining our online book club discussion (here is the link for more information). Adam Phillips is a practicing psychoanalyst and has written and co-written many books (including On Balance, Becoming Freud, Unforbidden Pleasures, and the forthcoming The Cure of Psychoanalysis). Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life (2012) is the first book I have…

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Culture

The Atheist Neighbor

A big part of the motive behind reading, thinking, and talking is the wish to be a good neighbor. Who is a good neighbor? A good neighbor is someone who doesn’t antagonize you, someone who doesn’t scare you (at least not intentionally), someone who doesn’t stigmatize or pigeon-hole you. I imagine a good neighbor wouldn’t irritate you with their loud (untimely) music, and in general he or she doesn’t force their taste into your awareness.…

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Criticism Memory Repetition

Reading “Fever” by Raymond Carver

I’d like to begin by thanking Tyson Woolman for bringing up Raymond Carver in response to one of my recent videos. Today I found “Fever”, in a collection titled, American Short Story Masterpieces (Edited by Raymond Carver, himself, and Tom Jenks). I believe the story had initially appeared in a collection called, Cathedral, which I’m planning to read in full. “Fever” is a strange story. It doesn’t contain any dramatic event, any transformation of a…

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