Why the progressive movement has stalled. I. Nominal and Material Progressivism Both Adam Smith and Karl Marx believed in progress. I’m concerned with action and results. If we don’t impact material change, what is the point? A results-oriented concern begins with clarifying what we mean by progress and progressivism. Consider this essay an open-ended […]
Demian Entrekin
Demian writes both essays and fiction. His fiction has been published in several print and online journals, including Main Street Rag and The Original Quail Bell. His essays have been published in print and online journals, including Forbes and eWeek. As a serial entrepreneur, Demian has been an active part of starting and running four companies, including one non-profit. Married and living in Oakland, California, Demian has two sons.
Retaining Wall
The urge to build a retaining wall was indirect – you had been talking about your job cutting trails on someone’s property. The dirt slope was unchanged for decades. I bought a pick and uncovered veins of serpentine running down the hill. The pick fractured them with a satisfying crack. Decisions can come from unexplained […]
Divide and Rule
How a time-honored weapon of statecraft has become a debilitating disease. “We have never been more divided.” That’s the barstool truism that we seem to have embraced, and the evidence of our divisions is not hard to find. At this point it’s banal to point it out. We accept our divided state like we […]
In His Own Image
The age-old pattern of Human-Centered Design and the emergence of World-Centered Design. Introduction After considerable reflection, it seems clear to me that there is nothing humanity admires more than itself. The very word humanity carries with it a generous payload of admiration and goodness. It is a gift we have bestowed upon ourselves. We employ […]
Thick Bodies
One by one, the families on the street moved away for good. Or, more accurately, with each new evacuation, one more family did not return. Like clockwork. She knew most of them by name and waved when they left. The house was built on stilts so it could withstand the high waters. It was the […]
A Vital Force
During a holiday party at her neighbor’s place, a young woman expressed the idea that she detested shopping. She thought it was a shallow and materialistic way to spend time. People at the party seemed to agree with her. She proclaimed at one point that shopping was actually a disease. The party was billed as […]
Domains of Freedom: Little Gods and the Era of Hegemonic Freedom
I. Introduction The tug-of-war over the meaning of “freedom” is the struggle of our time. But in many ways this struggle is hardly new: the meaning of freedom is inseparable from the notion of government. The idea of freedom is, after all, as old as government itself. Who governs and who are the governed? Are […]
Christmas Lights
Someone bangs on the front door. I lean forward and turn down the TV. The house goes quiet for a minute. Nothing happens. I look out the window and see fresh snow on the ground. I get up and walk to the hall and turn out the string of white lights hanging from nails in […]
A New Trinity
The We Generation & Why We Must Consider the Stoics Now For Nick and Clayton Let’s begin with the idea that Me Generations exist. Further, since the end of the baby boom, there has been a common belief that subsequent generations were, in fact, Me Generations. Whether it was the find-yourself sixties or the find-your-passion […]
Preview of the Change Issue: “A New Trinity”
The We Generation & Why We Must Consider the Stoics Now For Nick and Clayton Let’s begin with the idea that the Me Generations exist. Since the end of the baby boom, there has been a generalized belief that subsequent generations were, to some degree, considered to be Me Generations. Whether it was the find-yourself […]
Fox Hills
This piece started with a casual conversation with a loquacious ex-military colleague who waxed about the ability to hunt for foxes on certain golf courses in certain states at night. He’s a hunter and relishes any exotic opportunity to do so. From there, the idea grew into a larger notion of wildness, ambition, habitat destruction […]