July 2022 – Quick Abacus

July 23, 2022 Political Ideologies

Concepts, Terms, and Reality – Mind Control 101

“Half-ass education often leads to full-blown imagination.” (Peter Sirius)

“Never judge a person based on what (s)he thinks about her/himself.” (Vladimir Ilitch Lenin)

The German sociologist Max Weber wrote: “Reality is chaotic. It is therefore all the more important that we formulate sharply defined concepts.”

I think he got a point: without clearly defined concepts and terms no scientific discussion is possible. Science depends on clear definitions. We need concepts to provide intellectual order to empirical reality. Concepts are the tools with which we understand empirical reality. . .

July 18, 2022 Political Ideologies

I ACCUSE

“J’accuse”, (“I accuse”) was the French title of the famous open letter written by the French writer Émile Zola to the president of the French Republic in defense of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer who had been falsely accused of treason by the French army. It was published in the newspaper L’Aurore on Jan. 13, 1898. . .

July 9, 2022 Culture and Religion

Slavery

As a general concept, ‘slavery’ can be defined as the ‘ownership and/or complete control of one person by another person or by an institution or organization and the near complete loss of personal liberty and decision-making power by the enslaved person’.
Contrary to what many people think, slavery was not only endured by black people (sub-Saharan Africans) in America. And Africans were not only the victims. Black people, in particular West African governments, were instrumental in hunting down their own and selling them to the Arabian and European slave traders.

July 4, 2022 Political Ideologies

The Law of Reciprocity – The Gravity of Human Relationships

In 1925, the French sociologist Marcel Mauss published his seminal work “The Gift” (Essai sur le don). The essay focuses on the ways in which humans exchange objects between groups and individuals and how this practice builds or destroys relationships. . .

July 4, 2022 Political Ideologies

Nice Try, Ryan

When my family and I arrived in the USA in 1983, we bought a house in the borough of Mantua in Fairfax County, Virginia. Our older son René joined the Fairfax Police Youth Club soccer team. We were also frequent visitors in the “Mall” Museums, in particular, the Museum of Natural History.

We had not yet decided whether or not we would apply for US citizenship, but we were eager to learn the rules of American cultural and social life which seemed to be quite different from those in Europe. . .