WARNING!

This page contains Liberal material that may be hazardous to those who can no longer think.

In case you are unsure of just what Liberalism is, here's what Webster's has to say:

A note on the concept of "America - Love it or leave it."

Trying to change the improper actions of one's country does not imply that you don't love your country, any more than attempting to change the improper behavior of your children implies that you don't love your children. I love this country. I don't always approve of all its actions.

 

"Self-Made Men" and Social Darwinism

Is there really any such thing as a "self-made" man?

WHAT Liberal Media?

What is this "liberal media" I keep hearing about?

Society At The Crossroads

We seem to be beset by many problems right now, from loss of values to increasing homelessness and economic loss in the middle and lower income classes (even in a rich society), to overall polarization of the society. Here's what I think has happened.

• The Erosion of Ethics
• The Source of Values
• Capitalism As A System of Ethics
• Is There Another Way?

Contrasts In Style

This is a column written by Don Ferrugia and originally published in Computerworld, Oct 1988. It introduces the concept of choice-based thinking and rule-based thinking, which I have found to be profoundly insightful. The application of this concept eventually led me to write an article expanding on the implications of that concept in a larger context.

Choice-based vs. Rule-based

(Someday I'll have to think up a realy snappy title for this article)
The concepts of choice-based thinking and rule-based thinking go a long way toward explaining many of the behaviors we see in people and many of the predicaments and miscommunications we experience.

 

Adam Smith in His Time and Ours by Jerry Z. Muller

Was Adam Smith truly an advocate of a competely free market system? Most of the free-market advocates of today would have us believe so, but Muller disagrees. Through a comprehensive review of Smith's whole body of works, put in the perspective of the late 1700's, Muller shows a different side to Smith's theories that reveals far more than a purely economic system. In reality, Smith did not trust that selfishness and greed would lead to a better world, and advocated structures and limits that would direct those impulses toward a society of "universal opulence" for all, not just a few.
Muller is associate professor of History at the Catholic University of America.

The End of Affluence by Jeffrey Madrick

Madrick, an Emmy-Award-winning economics reporter for NBC and a graduate of Harvard Business School, examines the causes and consequences of our current economic decline. Along the way he shows why many of the simple solutions being proposed (balance the budget, shrink government, get rid of welfare) simply won't have the desired effect. Not exactly your classic Liberal (he was finance editor of Business Week, columnist for Money and contributor to The New York Times, Global Finance, Institutional Investor and others), Madrick nonetheless debunks many points of the "conservative" agenda.

Post-Capitalist Society by Peter Drucker

Drucker, one of the most prolific authors on business and management, examines the changes taking place in our world and puts them in a new perspective. Not only will our economic and educational systems be affected, but so too will our political systems and societal strucures, in many unexpected ways.
Peter Drucker has been writing about business and management since the 1940's.

The L Word by David Barash

This is a history of Liberalism, particularly in the United States. In it, the author points out, correctly, that many of the rights we (even the conservatives among us) take for granted today were considered liberal or even radical when first proposed. It is a perfect explanation of why I will never be ashamed to be a liberal.
David Barash is a professor of Psychology at the University of Washington and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford.

Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky

Actually, I recommend anything by Chomsky. This book looks at how the structure of our news media shapes and determines what gets presented and what doesn't. Technically, Noam Chomsky is professor of Linguistics at MIT (where he became a full professor at age 32!). Beyond that, he is one of the most analytical and insightful authors I have ever encountered. He can see through the nonsense and smoke to reveal the underlying patterns of behavior.

Center For American Progress
TomPaine.com
Media Transparency - tracking the money behind the media.
Liberalism Resurgent - still the best source of factual analysis.
"What Is A Liberal" by John F. Kennedy.