I am opposed to the accumulation of executive power anywhere.
Human language appears to be a unique phenomenon, without significant analogue in the animal world.
As soon as questions of will or decision or reason or choice of action arise, human science is at a loss.
Sooner or later, jihadist-style terror and WMD are going to come together and the consequences could be horrendous.
Anywhere in Latin America there is a potential threat of the pathology of caudillismo and it has to be guarded against.
As a research tool, the internet is invaluable.
In America, the professor talks to the mechanic. They are in the same category.
Education is not for profit. If you’re not in education for profit, it’s not going to be a fair critique for education.
My grandchildren are on social media all the time, and they think they have friends. But it’s not what I would’ve called a friend, ever.
With government deregulation and the triumph of financial liberalization, the dangers of systemic risks, the possibility of a financial tsunami, sharply increased.
Expressing criticism of society is not being a grouch.
I have no Facebook page or Twitter – I don’t participate in it, and I don’t like it particularly. I mean, it’s a form of interaction, which strikes me as extremely superficial.
The big change, the really radical change in communication, was in the late 19th century. The shift from sailing ships to telegraph is astronomical. Everything since then has been small increments, including the internet.
Small changes can magnifiy. The possibility of interpersonal communication has increased substantially with contemporary technology. But as compared with the major changes, which were long ago, these are not huge.
I doubt that national languages will disappear. In fact, to some extent they’re becoming more diverse, like in Europe.
We’re human beings; we’re not robots. And face-to-face contact is something totally different than typing a text message and then forgetting about it.
If you sell me a car, we have perhaps made a good bargain for ourselves. But there are effects of this transaction on others, which we do not take into account. There is more pollution, the price of gas goes up, there is more congestion.
I don’t buy much. Almost buy nothing. I buy what I need, do it the easiest way possible.
Democracy is always harmful to elite interests. Almost by definition.
Humans may be destroying their chances for decent survival. It won’t kill everybody, but it would change the world dramatically.