Crow Intelligence

Tag: political philosophy

  • Narrative Wars: What Hunger Games Teaches Us About Information Control

    Narrative Wars: What Hunger Games Teaches Us About Information Control

    In his political essays, 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume, known for his empiricism and influential work on skepticism and political theory, made a penetrating observation about power: “Nothing appears more surprising to those who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers.”

    This insight – that rulers maintain control through “opinion” rather than force – seems eerily prescient in our current information landscape, where competing narratives battle for supremacy both between and within societies. With Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series receiving renewed attention through the release of “Sunrise on the Reaping,” we have a timely occasion to examine these dynamics through the lens of her dystopian world. Collins has explicitly cited Hume’s concept of “implicit submission” as her philosophical inspiration for the series, creating a fictional universe that takes information control to its terrifying logical conclusion.

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  • Equality, What It Means and Why It Matters

    Equality, What It Means and Why It Matters

    I recently finished reading “Equality: What It Means and Why It Matters,” which captures a fascinating conversation between Michael Sandel and Thomas Piketty at the Paris School of Economics (May 2024). While this book is relatively brief, it builds upon two of the most important works of recent years: Sandel’s “The Tyranny of Merit” and Piketty’s “A Brief History of Equality.”

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