Can we trust people?

Posted on by Leave a comment

Statistically speaking the extent to which we’re able to trust others reflects on our ideological leanings. So the answer to this question may say more about your politics than anything else. But a new study suggests that our modern pre-disposition to trust strangers may result from a change in social norms e.g. urbanisation and increased market behaviour i.e. increased dealings with other people.

The results of this new study, based on more than 2,000 participants from 15 societies across the globe, show that “fair” behaviour during a bargaining game increases the more a society has incorporated market exchange and world religions.

But all this doesn’t say whether or not we should trust strangers, and to what extent, and in which circumstances. So, in your opinion, are humans intrinsically trustworthy or not?

Is it really the end of the Space Age?

Posted on by 4 comments

The Cold War has ended, and national spending on space exploration has begun to seem too expensive for the tax payer, with too few short to medium term benefits. But are the US cuts to space exploration in this recession really sufficient reason to call the “end of the space age” as many journalists are now doing?

Is America shifting towards the left?

Posted on by 2 comments

The United States defined itself during the Cold War against the USSR, and some people believe that made the US more right wing than it might otherwise have been. Obama is today accused of being a socialist, and he has provoked a right wing ‘tea party’ movement. But is his getting into power part of a wider trend, whereby in the long run we will see America more ideologically aligned with Europe?

How can we decide whether strikes are justifiable?

Posted on by 2 comments

The global recession has resulted in numerous strikes around the world. On June 30th there will be public sector strikes in the UK, and up to a million people are thought to join in. Yet there are strong voices and arguments both for and against the strikes. And that argument should most certainly be had. So what do you think? Are strikes justifiable in the midst of these cuts?

How far can humanity advance?

Posted on by 4 comments

Economic growth is a new concept, existing on a global level only since the Industrial Revolution. So what makes us think we can keep driving ever onward and upward if so little of history suggests we can?
Indeed much of our growth has been based on our imagination and creativity. But is man able to create anything entirely new? Try it now and you’ll find that what you think of in fact adapts something else that already exists. The greatest example in human history is the wheel. But that too we could have derived from a stone or a piece of fruit rolling down a hill, or perhaps more likely a log.

In addition, countries like China are able to grow fast because they are playing ‘Catch-up economics’. This occurs where new ideas, capital and technologies are being adapted/taken from abroad. Yet if the paragraph above is true then aren’t we all just playing ‘catch-up’ with nature? If we can’t ever think of anything new then we can only ever advance as far as nature allows us too. Right? Or wrong?

« Older Entries Recent Entries »