In the past few years, I’ve written many posts lamenting the defeat of reason and the rise of tyranny in our time. The inevitable consequence of these is the demise of justice. So I hope my readers would forgive me if, in my pessimistic and cynical frame of mind, I’m not terribly enthused about the current protests for social justice: I tend to think of the phenomenon not as a […]
Read moreCategory: Conversation and Reflection
COVID-19 in Perspective: IV. Science Informs But Never Guides
Government officials around the world have been telling the public that their response to the pandemic is “guided by science”, and that they rely on their scientist-advisors regarding which public health measures to put in place. Most people have abided by these measures, which have effectively slowed the spread of the virus, and prevented a collapse of our healthcare system. The truth is, however, that science never guides. It may […]
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COVID-19 in Perspective: III. A Paradigm Shift
COVID-19 and Capitalism The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionising the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production and with them the whole relations of society. Everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones. Man is at last compelled to face soberly, his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind. In Manifesto of the Communist Party written almost two centuries ago, […]
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COVID-19 in Perspective: II. An Update and Opinion
Four weeks ago, on March 21, a few days after an official declaration of state of emergency, I plotted three graphs on the number of active COVID-19 cases in Asia, America and Europe. Updated graphs indicate changes in the past four weeks: In Europe, Ireland, Spain and Belgium have overtaken Italy in terms of active cases per 10,000 population; In Asia, Singapore and Turkey have seen dramatic increase in the […]
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COVID-19 In Perspective
A Historic Moment Living in a tourist destination has its advantages and disadvantages. We’ve mostly enjoyed the immense advantages here, but COVID-19 has changed that dramatically in the past couple of weeks, and perhaps weeks and months to come. Our city is one of the hardest hit by COVID-19 in the country. We’re also one of the first states/provinces in North America that have just declared a state of emergency: […]
Read moreTyranny in Our Time
Abuse of Names as a Herald of Tyranny The first ever political coup in the long ancient history of China was heralded by an incident in court involving abuse of names. According to the Records of the Grand Historian (史记), not long after Qin Er Shi, the youngest son of the First Emperor of Qin, succeeded the throne by killing his eldest brother, one of his scheming ministers, who helped […]
Read moreA Stranger’s Tribute to a Scholar
Professor Larry Hurtado, a prominent New Testament scholar, passed away on Monday [1]. He was highly respected in his field, as the tribute at Christianity Today and others posted by his colleagues and students can attest. Although a stranger living on another continent, he had a significant impact on me. Until about three years ago, I didn’t know that New Testament study was a serious scholarly discipline. I think it […]
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