Published in The Kernel·Aug 27, 2021The Transmission FetishWhy is the Biden administration proposing transmission solutions for generation problems? — In April, the Department of Energy announced the availability of $8.25 billion in loans for electrical transmission projects. Advertised as the fulfillment of Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, the hope for the project is to create jobs and to strengthen America’s most precious piece of infrastructure: the electricity grid.Renewables5 min readRenewables5 min read
Dec 11, 2020An Oligarchy of Sob Stories2020 was a year of few winners. Jeff Bezos was one, whose wealth grew from $74 to $189 billion over the course of the year. Elon Musk saw similar gains. Joe Biden won, of course, and somehow. And it was a banner year for the sob story. The sob story…Trump7 min readTrump7 min read
Nov 16, 2020The Challenge of Thrasymachus: Making a Grown Man Blush7. A Pit Stop on Good Rulers Socrates remains unpersuaded. Socrates recapitulates his previous argument about political rule: the same way a doctor cares not for his benefit as a doctor but for his patient, a ruler cares not for his own benefit but for the people over which he…History5 min readHistory5 min read
Sep 22, 2020The Challenge of Thrasymachus: The Virgin Just Man vs. The Chad Unjust Man6. The Virgin Just Man vs. The Chad Unjust Man Perhaps unsurprisingly, the discussion of paternalism transitions to a discussion of the shepherd, the age-old archetype of benevolent, paternal authority. But Thrasymachus subverts the image. Socrates has been going on about the captain of the state who governs out of…Plato3 min readPlato3 min read
Sep 15, 2020The Challenge of Thrasymachus: Art and Interest5. Art and Interest Socrates accepts Thrasymachus’ repositioning. But Socrates has a request: “[M]ake it clear whether you meant by the ruler and stronger the man who is such only in common parlance or the man who is such in precise speech, whose advantage you said a moment ago it…Ancient History2 min readAncient History2 min read
Sep 8, 2020The Challenge of Thrasymachus: Knowledge and Advantage4. Knowledge and Advantage Once Socrates has Thrasymachus’ consent he makes a crucial maneuver. Socrates asks him if he thinks rulers make mistakes when they lay down laws. No fool, Thrasymachus assents. But Socrates then relates that to his previous point. If rulers make mistakes, then sometimes they legislate to…Philosophy2 min readPhilosophy2 min read
Sep 1, 2020Thrasymachus: Irony, Cowardice, and Strength2. Irony as Cowardice Thrasymachus bursts into the conversation having held his tongue for most of Socrates’ and Polemarchus’ discussion. And he’s frustrated. “If you truly want to know what the just is, don’t only ask and gratify your love of honor by refuting whatever someone answers — you know…Ancient History3 min readAncient History3 min read
Aug 25, 2020The Wolf of the Republic: Introducing ThrasymachusThrasymachus is perhaps the most important interlocutor Socrates encounters in The Republic. His argument (and it feels more like an argument than a discussion) with Socrates instigates the rest of the action. The conceptions of justice he poses and fails to defend continue to trouble Glaucon and Adeimantus who in…Plato3 min readPlato3 min read
Aug 18, 2020Polemarchus The Problem of Power2. The Problem of Power We learn from their back and forth that justice doesn’t make lyre players better lyre players, carpenters better carpenters, etc. Polemarchus states that justice might be good for guarding things, like money or weapons. Socrates counters that justice only becomes useful when tools are useless…Plato3 min readPlato3 min read
Aug 13, 2020Magic Eight Ball Politics: Kamala Harris and the Success of OligarchyAt the beginning of the campaign season, I worked as a tutor in Los Angeles. I spent my nights threading my disintegrating 2000 VW Beetle through rush hour traffic to arrive at the mansions of various wealthy elites so that I could help their children organize their binders, write papers…Politics6 min readPolitics6 min read
