Category Archives: Social Sciences

To Help Your Climate Anxiety, Just Follow Paul

The Climate Emergency is here.  Our wonderful capitalist civilization of convenient consumption has pushed too much pollution into our common atmosphere, and our earthly and watery environments are suffering as well.   All around the world,  smart and well-informed people are … Continue reading

Posted in climate change, cllimate emergency, current world history, Economic History, Economics, Politics, Psychology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

To Build A Green Future: Implementing the Manifesto

Readers in America are unlikely to have heard about it, a very broad coalition calling itself the “Peoples of the Global South” has recently published a “Manifesto for an Ecosocial Energy Transiton from the Peoples of the South” that does … Continue reading

Posted in climate change, cllimate emergency, current world history, Economic History, Economics, Social Sciences, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

National Sales Tax? Let’s Have the Plutocratic Sales Tax

We have a severe problem of economic inequality, both here in America and also across the globe as a whole.  There is a very small class of plutocrats, extremely wealthy individuals, and the decision-makers in the largest corporations, who have … Continue reading

Posted in American Economic History, American Politics, Economics, Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

We Weren’t Dealing Well with Climate Emergency, Now Ukraine Emergency Makes It Worse

(Original post, dealing with climate emergency, was greatly revised to cover Ukraine invasion and re-published Feb. 28, 2022.) The climate emergency has the potential to destroy all our comforts and conveniences, and possibly our lives – and we aren’t dealing … Continue reading

Posted in climate change, cllimate emergency, current world history, Democrats, Economics, History, Politics, Republicans, Ron's Omelet, Russia, Social Sciences, Ukraine, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Trump: The Suicide of Civilization?

The election of Donald J. Trump to the American Presidency in 2016 represents a stunning victory of ignorance over intelligence, a triumph of fraudulent salesmanship over honest customer service. To the extent that Trump succeeds in boosting irreversible climate change … Continue reading

Posted in American Politics, Communication systems, current world history, Politics, Republicans | 5 Comments

The Foundations of Morality, And Where Plato Went Wrong

Author’s note: Readers not familiar with my work might wish to start with this article, the summary of my next book, which explains the basics of my thoughts on human beings and social sciences.  Get yourself a snack and a … Continue reading

Posted in History, Philosophy, Politics, Ron Brandstetter, Social Sciences | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Syria As a Mirror to the World

The Syrian nation-state is riven by civil war (exacerbated by external forces), and seems in serious danger of collapse into a state of anarchy so great, that little or nothing of the lives of its inhabitants can saved from destruction, … Continue reading

Posted in History, Psychology, Social Sciences, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Advanced Theodicy for Practical People

Let’s see if we can’t get a little deeper into the question of theodicy, the question of why “god” allows evil to exist in the world. I am qualified to be your guide today, as I do consider myself to … Continue reading

Posted in History, Philosophy, Ron Brandstetter, Social Sciences, spiritual ron | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

No, Public Managers Shouldn’t Get Business Manager Salaries

Author’s note: This article is a result of my recent foray into local activism, investigating the situation of my dysfunctional local agency that provides water to myself and thousands of my neighbors. The results of that investigation are a bit … Continue reading

Posted in American Economic History, American Politics, History, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Why Opinion Polls Aren’t As Scientific As Claimed

There is a fundamental misrepresentation, a basic exaggeration, being perpetrated by companies doing telephone opinion polling, which makes their claims of “accuracy” false …the whole problem is they just can’t get a truly random sample by telephone. Continue reading

Posted in 2010 Elections, American Politics, cell phone, landline, opinion polling, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments