The World's Best Book Summaries
What is court-packing? What do politicians aim to achieve by increasing the number of justices in the Supreme Court? “Court-packing” is usually used to refer to changes in the size of the Supreme Court. This typically involves increasing the number of seats in the Supreme court with a view of changing its ideological makeup. Keep reading to learn about court-packing, explained with examples.
Why can’t the countries in the West impose democracy and capitalism on developing nations? Is there another way to fix bad governments? In his book The White Man’s Burden, economist William Easterly argues that the West needs to stop trying to fix bad governments. He says that imposing top-down aid is not what’s going to help struggling nations. Here’s why Easterly thinks democracy and capitalism can’t be imposed.
Why shouldn’t the West try to impose free-market reforms on developing countries? What problems can this inflict upon the locals? Free-market capitalism can lead to economic growth, but that doesn’t mean that it should be forced upon developing nations that aren’t ready for such reform. When more developed countries try to impose their will upon other nations, it usually does more harm than good. Keep reading to learn what economist William Easterly has to say about this topic of controversy.
What is information asymmetry? What are the ethical implications of asymmetries in information? Asymmetry of information is where one party involved in a transaction has more information than the other party. According to Nassim Taleb, the author of Skin in the Game, asymmetry of information is essentially the same as asymmetry of risk. When there is a hidden imbalance of information in a transaction, the party with less knowledge incurs more risk. In this article, we’ll explain how the risk created by information asymmetry contributes to unethical transactions.
What does “virtue signaling” mean? Do you think it’s immoral to publicize your virtue? The term “virtue signaling” has slowly been creeping its way into everyday vernacular and media dialogue. Virtue signaling is the act of publicly behaving in a way that makes you look as noble as possible. Here is why true virtue is done in secret.
How do social class hierarchies—such as the caste systems seen in America, India, and Nazi Germany—come into being? Why are castes so hard to abolish once they are established? A caste is a social class hierarchy that is formed based on arbitrary characteristics of difference (e.g. race, religion). According to Isabel Wilkerson, the author of Caste, there are eight tenets that form a caste system: 1) laws of divinity, 2) ingrained superiority, 3) dehumanization at the group level, 4) laws of heritage, 5) laws of love, 6) the purity of the dominant caste, 7) division of labor, and 8) terror
What is the focus of the Milgram study? Why is the experiment so important? The Milgram study was carried out by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram to explore the tendency of people to obey orders from authority figures even when they contradict their personal values. The experiment is important because it helps us understand why seemingly decent people will blindly follow flawed leaders to do bad things. Read on to learn more about the discoveries of the Milgram study.
In what ways are the lowest caste often mistreated in hierarchical social class systems? What are some examples of mistreatment from United States history? In order to maintain their power, the dominant caste will often mistreat the lower castes in order to keep them in their place and maintain power. Two major ways they go about doing this are by giving the lower caste members menial and subordinate tasks, and by terrorizing them physically and psychologically. Continue reading to understand how the lowest class in a caste is mistreated.
What life lessons can we learn from Charlie Munger’s speeches? Why is Warren Buffet so important in Munger’s life? Charlie Munger’s speeches highlight moral character, hard work, focus, good partnerships, and a great sense of humor as the secrets to his success in life. His partnership with Warren Buffet is also crucial because Buffett serves as an invaluable ally for testing out his thinking. Read on to discover more valuable life lessons from Charlie Munger’s speeches.
What are the three biggest problems with the caste system? Where do these problems stem from? According to Isabel Wilkerson, the author of Caste, the dominant caste’s beliefs in an innate right to be in control give them a sense of entitlement and the authority to police the actions of the subordinate caste. This causes three general problems. First, upper-caste entitlement can lead to violence, second, people in the lower caste internalize and reproduce that violence, and third, society misses out on the lower class’s contributions. Here are the three problems, explained.