English

A terrible earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and Syria on February 6, killing at least 40,000 people as the search for victims goes on and casualties are sure to mount. Infrastructure, including thousands of homes, has been destroyed in many towns and villages. Information on the disaster in Syria is more limited. Access for relief organizations and delivery of […]

Although terms such as justice, democracy or the Rule of Law are understandable to most of us, they have been drained of their clear meaning by the addition of the politically explosive and thus very likely so common and pervasive word ‘social’. Who knows how e.g. Social Justice can ever be defined? Or what might […]

“… if thought corrupts language, language corrupts thought.”  Jonas Trappe Third Prize in Vernon Smith Prize Contest 2022.  Abstract Language is one of the most fundamental achievements in human history. Language in all its manifestations, in the choice of words, the grammar, the style of its speakers, tells the story of a society. Language evolved […]

“… if thought corrupts language, language corrupts thought.”  Krzysztof L. Lesniewski Third Prize in Vernon Smith Prize Contest 2022.  Abstract The aim of the essay is to illustrate how impactful the language is especially in political context with the focus on the impact of the corruption of language. The essay elaborates on this in preliminary […]

The Living Tree and the Erosion of the Rule of Law Johann-Jakob Chervet Second Prize in Vernon Smith Prize Contest 2022.  Abstract This essay explores the danger of the corruption of language to the Rule of Law. As Justice Gorsuch wrote “words are how the law constrains power”. Therefore, the corruption of our language inevitably […]