joshuago’s history Bookmarks

The strange phenomenon that's destroying Latin America.

This is the perverse logic of meritocracy. Once a system grows sufficiently complex, it doesn’t matter how badly our best and brightest foul things up. Every crisis increases their authority, because they seem to be the only ones who understand the system well enough to fix it.

A government made up of rotating amateurs cannot maintain the steadiness and continuity that our expansive Republic requires.

It was once the “land of a thousand cities” and home to some of the world’s most renowned scientists, poets, and philosophers. Today it is seen mostly as a harsh backwater. To imagine Central Asia’s future, we must journey into its remarkable past.

A graceful survey of the delicate balance the United States must maintain in Central Asia. The war in Afghanistan means that America needs a transit route across the region, but it means making deals with autocratic leaders. All is not lost, however, because partnership with the U.S. also means counterbalancing Russian, Chinese, and Iranian influence, and greater safety from pro-Taliban elements.

When the ecosystem stops rewarding complexity, it is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future.

Imperial collapse may come much more suddenly than many historians imagine. A combination of fiscal deficits and military overstretch suggests that the United States may be the next empire on the precipice.

The United States hopes to create a strong central government in Afghanistan -- but is such state building possible? Yes, and policymakers should look to Louis XIV and the development of France's ancien régime for guidance.

How did Americans end up with a system in which employers pay for our health insurance? After all, they don't pay for our groceries or our gas.

Detailed, pessimistic account of problems in making data secure, legible for centuries to come. Do the obvious things—back up, print out—but they won't be enough.