In an essay in the Economic Journal (117 [2007] 146-73), Robert Sugden and Luigino Bruni describe how “psychology was removed from economics, and how it might be brought back.” The development of behavior economics provides a starting point for them to examine the “Pareto turn,” the work of Vilfredo Pareto that “eliminated psychological concepts from economics by basing economic theory on principles of rational choice.” Pareto was attempting to dislodge the psychological models of classical economics, in an effort to establish economics as… Read more

In a long and stimulating piece in the New Atlantis, Samuel Matlack explores the role of metaphor in contemporary physics, especially with regard to the challenges of translating the mathematical formulae of theory into popular writing. Have we, he asks, transcended the need for poetry in our explanations of physical reality? At several points in the article, he argues for a distinction between the language needed for science and the language needed to express our actual experience of the world…. Read more

In a discussion of a First Things article about Christian colleges by Carl Trueman, Rod Dreher writes: Sometimes I hear Christians saying things along the lines of, ‘Bring it on! The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church!’ etc. These are the kind of romantics who in a different context would gas on about the cleansing power of war. They have no idea what persecution is like, and what it can do to Christian communities. In the… Read more

Edward Luce (Retreat of Western Liberalism) notes that in 1750, India and China account for “three-quarters of the world’s manufactures.” The East’s dominance collapsed over the following centuries: “On the eve of the First World War their share had dropped to just 7.5 per cent. Economic historians called it the Age of Divergence.” The shift of manufacturing from East to West directly affected the lives of workers: “In 1820, Britain had a per-capita income of $2000 in today’s prices. That… Read more

Way back in 1997, Peter Berkowitz published a review of David Walsh’s The Growth of the Liberal Soul. It’s a notable title, since one of the charges of post-liberals is that liberalism has no soul. But Walsh’s thesis is worth revisiting now that there is widespread questioning of the liberal project. Berkowitz sums up part of Walsh’s explanation of the “existential appeal” of liberalism. That appeals is rooted in: “liberal tradition’s ability to give political expression to the principle or… Read more

Mention the “public,” and you’re liable to be greeted with lamentation and hand-wringing. Citizenship isn’t what it used to be. No one participates in public events any more. Once upon a time, we were active citizens. Now we bowl alone and we participate in public life only as passive spectators. Democracy is dying, if it’s not already dead. Ari Adut’s Reign of Appearances argues, bracingly, that the lamentation and hand-wringing is misplaced. It arises from a fundamental misunderstanding of the… Read more

The following summarizes the structural analysis of Isaiah found in David Dorsey’s Literary Structyre of the Old Testament. Like most of the books of the Old Testament, Dorsey finds that Isaiah is organized in a sevenfold pattern: A.Condemnation, pleading, promise of future restoration, 1:1-12: B. Oracles to the nations, 13:1-26:21 C. Woes, 27:1-35:10 D. Historical narrative, 36:1-39:8 C’. Yahweh triumphs over idols, 40:1-48:22 B’. Servant Songs, 49:1-54:17 A’. Condemnation, pleading, promise of future restoration, 55:1-66:24 There are close linkages between… Read more

The king of Judah is panicked, and all Jerusalem with him (Isaiah 7). Judah has been invaded by the combined armies of Pekiah, King of Israel, and Rezin, King of Aram. They have come against Jerusalem and are besieging it, but they cannot conquer it. But they’ve spooked the whole city. Everyone is scared, and the hearts of the people and the king shake like the trees of the forest shake when the wind blows. Israel and Aram are unlikely… Read more

Edward Luce (Retreat of Western Liberalism) can’t quite believe he’s saying what he’s saying. It feels like heresy, treason. How can a convinced liberal bring himself to talk about liberalism’s retreat or demise? “To a person whose life has coincided with the rise of democracy, the spread of market economics and signs that the world had finally subscribed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . . . merely to pose the question is troubling enough. Wasn’t that debate settled… Read more

Isaiah’s name – “Yah saves” – is reassuring, and his message of rescue and salvation is a reassuring message because during Isaiah’s time, Judah needs saving, and they need saving again and again. Read more

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