Essays & News

The National Front’s lead in France’s election campaign has once again put the spotlight on populism. “Populism” has become a buzzword that is increasingly used as a negative label meant to discredit non-mainstream movements and kill any substantive discussion about the merits of their proposals. Such methods are intellectually arrogant. They imply a disrespect for […]

Behavioral scientists have observed that man as a species has developed an ability to ignore threatening or negative information. We tend not to look closely at bank statements showing debt or disturbing results of medical tests. Surprisingly, people with higher IQs are even more prone to this mental displacement than the less gifted. Such behavior […]

Trumponomics is worth a second look | The public perception of President Donald Trump’s economic program is that it is a chaotic mix of protectionist measures, tax relief for rich people, uncoordinated increases in infrastructure spending and antisocial cuts in healthcare benefits. However, it may be worth taking a closer look at the administration’s agenda […]

Originally published on asiasentinel.com The problem of debt in China is not the bursting of a bubble. It is much worse. As the Middle Kingdom approaches the worldwide record of accumulated debt, productivity losses are becoming increasingly apparent. That is very bad news. Every economy relies of a certain amount of debt. That is an […]

Österreichisch oder Austrian? Im Dunstkreis Wiens ereignete sich zwischen den Jahren 1880 und 1930 ein Big Bang moderner Wissenschaft. Kein Wunder: Jene Stadt war das kosmopolitische Zentrum nicht nur der österreichisch-ungarischen Monarchie. Am Donauufer wurde ernsthafte Wissenschaft im Diskurs mit der Realität betrieben. Zum Vergleich: Deutsche Universitäten stilisierten sich in ewiger Wiederholung historischer Ideen oder […]