Topic: Art and Culture

Luxury Beliefs Death Spiral

– September 27, 2022

“Short of welcoming the brutal circumstances that would force everyone to experience the immediate pain of decades-long cost shifting and debt spending, how can we reduce the social costs of sharing poor man’s beliefs?” ~ Max Borders

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Authority And Freedom by Jed Perl: A Review

– September 20, 2022

“In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith placed free markets in the context of other factors that make up a well-functioning society. One of those factors, one that stands on an equal-though-separate footing with economics or politics, is the arts.” ~ Daniel Asia

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Corporate Wokeness Hurts the Groups It Purports to Help

– September 15, 2022

“Corporate wokeness enriches the already rich and, inadvertently, burdens those who struggle the most. It’s bad. And things won’t improve until people ‘awaken’ to its harmful consequences.” ~ Allen Mendenhall

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Why Workplace Skills Rather Than Leadership Strategies Should Be Prioritized in Higher Ed

– September 12, 2022

“Clearly, the business realm is ever-evolving and this is why management strategies, as well as educational instruction, must change accordingly.” ~ Kimberlee Josephson

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A Skeptic Confronts False Prophets

– September 9, 2022

“McWhorter argues that woke racism is a new religion. Like other religions, woke racism has superstitions, a clergy, original sin, evangelical outreach, an apocalyptic vision, heretics, and an eagerness to supplant earlier religions.” ~ Joshua Mitchell

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Why Warner Bros. Sunk Batgirl

– September 1, 2022

“The company likely believes the cost is greater than the benefit. And given the recent track record of DC movies, I don’t doubt they’re right.” ~ Peter Jacobsen

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Triviality’s Assault on Liberty

– August 31, 2022

“Gorged on such pablum, we are liable to become indolent, somnolent, and neglectful—overfed loafers of a popular culture of junk food, dozing uneasily on our couches as the world flashes by on our screens.” ~ Richard Gunderman

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Bourdain by Laurie Woolever: A Review

– August 30, 2022

“Bourdain is an honest, expansive, funny, tragic, heartfelt, and meaningful account of the life of a man who changed forever what Americans think about food, and the diverse people around the world who cook and sell it to us.” ~ Baylen Linnekin

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High Art, Commerce, and the Problem of The Beatles

– August 27, 2022

“The Beatles are just the tip of the iceberg. The Beatles are a problem because they open the door for other non-traditional but influential artists and works to be thought of as high art.” ~ Robert Edward Gordon

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No, There Is Not a “Neoliberal” Poltergeist in Higher Ed

– August 27, 2022

“Without meaningful mechanisms to check for wastefulness and accountability, the competition for scarce university budget resources leads to sacrificing educational quality in favor of expanding enrollment.” ~ Phillip W. Magness & Robertas Bakula

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Yes, You Need the Liberal Arts

– August 25, 2022

“As Madison wrote, ‘What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty & Learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual & surest support?’” ~ John Agresto

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Reflections Sparked by A New Jersey Turnpike Rest Area

– August 8, 2022

“I’m confident that everyone at the New Jersey Turnpike rest area, if pressed to think seriously about this feature of the liberal market order as he or she surveyed fellow rest-area visitors, would heartily applaud.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

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