Category Archives: Politics
Why Socialism Has More Lives Than the Phoenix
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th June 2026Socialism, in its purest and most advanced form, is a political and economic system in which the means of production and the distribution of goods and services are owned, controlled, or directed by the government. In one form or another, it has been around for more than two centuries. It eventually disappears or degenerates into…
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Extinction Denied?
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th June 2026Two basic events seem to be converging. First, our technology advances at an astonishingly rapid pace, while our behavior hasn’t changed since our ancestors were kicked out of Eden. Thus, we now have the capacity for endless mayhem (I’m ignoring all the benefits of technology, as they can be extinguished in a millisecond), coupled with…
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Sleeping Under the Bridge
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd January 2026The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal loaves of bread.Anatole France Anatole France’s observation was made to underscore the government’s indifference to the plight of the poor. It appeared in his novel Le Lys Rouge (The…
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Can Politics be Rational?
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th August 2025How can I, that girl standing there,My attention fixOn Roman or on RussianOr on Spanish politics,Yet here’s a travelled man that knowsWhat he talks about,And there’s a politicianThat has both read and thought,And maybe what they say is trueOf war and war’s alarms,But O that I were young againAnd held her in my arms. WB…
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President Trump’s Aspirin Treatment
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd July 2025The recent reports regarding President Trump’s swollen ankles and hand bruising mentioned that he is taking aspirin. His press secretary said, “This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.” This statement may have been true 10…
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The “Experts” on Biden’s Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th May 2025The press is quoting a bevy of “cancer experts” pontificating on how it’s inconceivable that the former president Biden didn’t have a PSA test while he was president. They seem to think that the PSA test is an infallible guide to the diagnosis and subsequent successful treatment of prostate cancer. The use of routine PSA…
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On Democracies and Death Cults – Review
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 15th April 2025Douglas Murray has written an analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict that focuses on the war in Gaza as a starting point. As the title suggests, he believes the struggle is between a society committed to life and another that views death and martyrdom as the ultimate achievement of existence. The slender volume, it contains less…
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Religion and Politics
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th November 2024Religion, regardless of form or complexity, has been a constant in all human societies for as long as we can recall. Politics is likely just as ancient. I’ll define religion as the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods. The reader can extend the definition if so…
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Polybius and Government
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 17th July 2024Edward Gibbon wrote, “History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.” His great predecessor the Greek historian Polybius (c. 200 – c.118 BC) seems on close analysis by the reader to have believed that history was little more than the register of different people doing the same things over…
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Making Life Better
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th July 2024Those passionate about improving things but without the wit to do it are the most dangerous humans on the planet. One sees this everywhere. Its most virulent form is the complex system. Solitary pursuits are the least affected. Those most committed to improving whatever slice of life has seized their attention invariably turn to the…
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