Reuters title: Democracy slipping away at record rate, intergovernmental body warnsDate: 22 November 2021 "BRUSSELS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - A greater number of countries are sliding towards authoritarianism, while the number of established democracies under threat has never been so high, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said on...
All over the world, you can see a similar trend: democrats getting undemocratic and liberals getting illiberal. Intolerance (eg, for people thinking differently) is increasing. My blog is not about the (lack of) legality of that trend (eg, Austria, USA). My blog is about the Why of this trend. Last Sunday, Dutch ethics professor Fleur Jongepier was warning the Dutch...
We typically believe in simple perspectives: it's either day or night rather than acknowledging dawn or twilight. Things are either black or white rather than the many shades of grey in between. People are either right or wrong rather than considering subjective truths. Many - if not most - things are dualistic in our lives (eg, us/them, yes/no). If so, how can...
Recently, I wondered whether relationships are part of a zero-sum game, in which one wins (+1) and the other one loses (-1). The sum of -1 +1 equals zero. In my case, I'm inclined to view my relationships as a losing game. Nevertheless, Love should constitute as a win-win. When in love, both people would normally feel more happy and satisfied. If Love is an...
It's probably safe to argue that Donald Trump lost his re-election due to his failed handling of Covid-19. I believe he would have been re-elected if he had - at least - taken Covid-19 serious. It's probably also safe to argue that Joe Biden's vaccine mandates are mobilising the Republican opposition (eg, AP). AP, 2 November 2021: "A closely contested race for...
According to the Dutch Financial Times, the European Commission wants to interfere with Dutch tax laws. Financieele Dagblad, 1 November: The Netherlands must sacrifice its tax allowances for independent contractors and its mortgage interest deduction in order to obtain EU billions. There is some irony in this because our PM has been highly critical towards Hungary...
English
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Recent Comments