21st Century Progressivism

Blog

  • The Turn of the English Wheel

    Reading Time: 7 minutes

    I. The Indomitable Spirit and the Modern Enclosure

    There is a spirit in this world that is untouched by the world’s empires, armies, police, and dictators. It’s part of our inheritance as humans. This spirit is evident in indigenous kin-based societies, however the rest of us might find it difficult to understand. We are so removed from this way of seeing that the attempt to access it almost feels like a fetish—something that requires an expensive weekend retreat or hours of meditation.… Read the rest

  • Rome: Archetype of the Imperial Machine (Part 2)

    Reading Time: 10 minutes

    Every empire is founded on human pathology. Ambition and hubris are at the core of it. But there is another ingredient that remains invisible at first: addiction. The addiction of constant expansion cements the machine’s control over conquered and conqueror alike. But like any addiction, it only makes itself known after the machine has established itself. Rome was the archetype of the imperial machine, and many grand histories have attempted to capture her essence. Unfortunately, Rome is not merely a lesson from history; the Empire is still with us.… Read the rest

  • The Imperial Blueprint (Part 1)

    Reading Time: 9 minutes



    Empires throughout time have utilized identical tactics for gaining power, centralizing resources, and subduing the population. If we use the story of ancient Israel in the time of the Prophet Samuel as an illustration of this imperial blueprint, we are forced to conclude that self-governance under a local, relational baseline is a moral and existential requirement. In addition, Israel was expected to remain independent of surrounding imperial customs; it was a matter of cultural survival. 

    Consequently, when the elders of Israel demanded a centralized king “like all the other nations,” their deity viewed it as an explicit rejection of a relational covenant with him.… Read the rest

  • The Kinship Baseline vs. The Imperial Machine

    Reading Time: 8 minutesIndependent tribal societies had a profoundly distinct understanding of the beginning of the universe. Two of these societies were the ancient Hebrews and the traditional Scottish Highland clans. Both cultures originally understood the ultimate reality not as a detached cosmic bureaucrat, but as a personal leader walking at the head of a living family. This understanding is not generally understood today. Perhaps because the kinship baseline is a direct challenge to the imperial machine.

    Evidence for the kinship foundation of ancient Hebrews and the Scottish Highland clans is embedded in the very first phrase of the first verse of Genesis: “In the beginning.… Read the rest

  • The Financial Machinery of Civilization

    Reading Time: 2 minutesThis is the first in a series of articles about the financial machinery of civilization. The series begins with a pared-down historical outline.

    I. Introduction: The Core Thesis of Extraction

    • The Transformed Operating System: Changing mechanisms of power throughout history.
    • The Permanent Architecture: Consistent reliance on top-down extraction and wealth concentration.
    • The Evolution of Coercion: Transition from physical force to administrative law and financial debt.

    II. The Ancient World: Macro-Management and Structural Evolution

    • Ancient Egypt: The Centralized Barter State
      • Dependence on royal granaries and resource redistribution.
    … Read the rest
  • The American Paradox

    The American Paradox

    Reading Time: 4 minutesThere is a distinct spiritual vertigo that comes when a society realizes its foundations are fracturing. As we look out at a landscape shifting under multi-directional threats—hyper-polarization, macroeconomic instability, and geopolitical chaos—the world suddenly feels like a barren, trackless wilderness.

    On paper, America rejected the idealism of French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau believed a state could force its citizens to conform to a singular, collective “General Will.” Instead, the American Founders built a mechanical fortress designed to prevent tyranny.… Read the rest

  • The Blameless Center Line

    The Blameless Center Line

    Reading Time: 4 minutesThe morning after a devastating political defeat, the silence can feel heavier than the loudest campaign noise. You watch the maps change, feeling a suffocating mixture of disappointment and deep, exhausting discouragement. It feels as though a massive, impersonal machine has rolled over everything you value. You did the work, you held the line—and the system failed you anyway.

    If you are standing in that quiet, anxious modern wilderness today, I want to take you out of our current media echo chamber and place you onto a marshy moor in Scotland on April 16, 1746.… Read the rest

  • The Wilderness Crucible

    The Wilderness Crucible

    Reading Time: 7 minutesI wrote Justice of the Rupture  after our attempt to elect Bernie Sanders to the presidency. Shortly afterward, Nina Turner, the national co-chair of Sanders’ 2020 campaign, identified the nature of our grief when she said “Progressives are in the wilderness“. Nina was raised in the church. She was talking about the wilderness that Jesus experienced after his baptism. Sadly, the entire country is here with us today. The important thing at this time is to recognize it for what it is.… Read the rest

  • Patriarchy in Modern Society: Historical Roots and Future Implications

    Reading Time: 11 minutes

    Historical Origins of Patriarchy

    We know the approximate origin of patriarchy in modern society. It appeared in the West approximately 1200 BCE. But the credit goes to Homer (750-700 B.C.) who sang of the struggles of distant heroes. He was the first to describe a patriarchal system. Homer’s poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, told of men who gave law to their children and wives. Next, we have the influence of Solon (630-550 B.C.). Solon’s actions may have advanced patriarchy in a more concrete way than Homer’s poems.… Read the rest

  • Desperados

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    A desperado is a desperate or reckless person, especially a bold criminal or outlaw. The term is most commonly associated with dangerous characters from the American Old West who were pushed by desperation to commit violent acts. That word now describes the government and political system of the United States of America. In this and subsequent articles I will address the desperados directly.

    Rational Versus Irrational Empires

    If responsible leaders of an empire want to protect the well-being of citizens, it is to their credit.… Read the rest