Tag: Status and Morality
-
The Great Stagnation and the Possibilities of Redistribution
Tyler Cowen’s new e-pamphlet (The Great Stagnation) takes on the slowing gains to be had from social and technological progress and offers an interesting explanation of some of the trends that many people see as troubling: the flat arc of median incomes since 1973 and the apparently universal surprise that the last decade offered no…
-
Inequality of What? Socioeconomic Status and Amartya Sen’s Entitlements Approach
Responding to the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Socioeconomic Status, Peter Levine discusses some of the difficulties in measuring socioeconomic status: To take another example: you need wealth and family connections to be admitted to certain snobby clubs. But having wealth and family connections might hurt your chances of hanging out with the cool kids…
-
Blame, Offense, and (again) Contempt
1. Two studies suggest that women apologize more than men. The reason? They are more easily offended, and find more actions more offensive: In Study 1, participants reported in daily diaries all offenses they committed or experienced and whether an apology had been offered. Women reported offering more apologies than men, but they also reported committing…
-
Best blog post I’ve read today
From Tyler Cowen: I would not say that “we are now at war with the terrorists” but our situation has some war-like elements. Any persistent war has required major social changes, if only temporary ones, in how the body is viewed and handled. If we are so unwilling to even consider these changes in body…
-
Walmart Coming to DC
Walmart is planning to open several new “urban” stores in the District, and I’m pretty excited about it. (via) One of them will be just two blocks away from me, and I plan to shop there. Right now, I do most of my shopping at the rundown, overpriced Safeway or at the Costco off the 495…
-
Appiah’s Honor
The philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah’s new book The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen chronicles how the concept of honor has been crucial in the fight against immoral practices like dueling, foot-binding, and slavery. In his press junket to promote the book, he’s discussed honor, moral revolutions, and the condemnation of future generations. Let me start with some…