Culture

Two Ways Our World Resembles ‘1984’0
- Culture
- March 29, 2019
When I took 1984 with me on vacation recently, I didn’t expect to read it. Unlike the two other books with me—Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life and Matt Ridley’s The Rational Optimist—I had already read Orwell’s classic work. Or had I? It had been at least 25 years. Most of what I remembered seemed
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The Problem of Care in a Culture of Convenience 0
- Culture
- March 29, 2019
The reality of caring for the very young (or the very old) while trying to maintain a living is what modern social theorists refer to as “the dependency problem.” In pursuit of maximum efficiency and endless affluence, modern industrial economies require that all able-bodied adults work full-time outside the home. Those who are too young—or
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Could Marriage Help Millennials Escape Poverty?0
- Culture
- March 29, 2019
Ask adults over 55 what comes to mind when they think of millennials and many of them will roll their eyes and swiftly say, “entitled.” While I’ll be the first to admit that millennials like myself have our shortcomings, the reality is that one of our greatest challenges stems from a breakdown in society’s oldest
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The Long March: Are Its Days Numbered?0
- Culture
- March 28, 2019
A golden jubilee is by definition the celebration of a fiftieth anniversary. Fifty years have passed since a watershed year in our history: 1969. Yet many of us, I suspect, will find little gold or jubilee in this anniversary. Yes, 1969 was the year America put a man on the moon. That feat deserves a
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When the State Kicks Down Your Door and Takes Your Child Over a Fever 0
- Culture
- March 28, 2019
In February, Arizona police officers broke down the door of a private home with their guns drawn. They weren’t there to rescue a hostage. They were serving a court order against parents who declined to take their child to the hospital for a fever, and they left with three children now claimed by the state.
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The Banality of the Modern Hipster 0
- Culture
- March 28, 2019
A young man caught my eye recently when he walked into a trendy café in Austin. It wasn’t his curling mustache but the fact that he was walking barefoot. This struck me as an odd choice given that it was overcast and drizzly outside. But I restrained my staid judgmental Britishness—this is America, after all,
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