L'Ordre

Much that was once expensive is cheap. Much that was once priced is now free. It’s already a reasonable prediction in futurist circles that everything will someday be free, recognised as a common heritage of humanity. This is often seen as Utopian reasoning, but it is already the basis on which information is already published and shared today. The advent…

The little online Mont Order society appears to have convened near the end of October with the intention to codify some principles. At the end of that conference, there were 7 simple points put together to represent the agenda of the Mont Order society today. What were they? For those who don’t know what the Mont Order is,…

A point made by many proponents of the Biblical creation story over modern scientific explanations for the diversity of life will use the argument that evolution lays the basis for an “immoral” view of the world. Supporters of the accepted scientific model will hit back that the above argument is simply a logical fallacy. That is true. There…

Social progress, which is closely tied to the notion of modernity, has been a core belief of the so-called Western world since, possibly, the French Revolution. It is not without merit, but simplistic assertions that modern Western political systems are the best can obscure the central role played by technology. The ancient myth of progress Similar notions of the march of…

The word “theocracy” tends to elicit negative reactions in the English-speaking world. Shall we conclude theocracy is always bad, or that theocracy is sometimes good? Theocracy is a model of state governed by authority from an allegedly divine source. All government is built upon idolising documents, flags, ideas and myths. Should the alleged source of a law, e.g. God or man, matter more…

Various US Republican candidates have threatened to ignore or even stop the Iran deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – signed with Iran if they become President. Whatever they may say, the so-called deep state in the US has already committed itself to the deal with Iran. That means the entrenched political-military bureaucrats who…

Many political commentators complain about the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)’s inability to solve international crises. And although I am a Jacobin who rarely defends any political institution, I must defend the UN Security Council. The Security Council is a brute force institution, based on harsh realities rather than idealism. It consists of the five victorious countries of…

When countries are called “rogue states” or “the axis of evil”, as George W. Bush said, we as Western countries proceed to put economic sanctions on them. Read my recent Beliefnet feature article, “Does God Endorse Tech?” But the victims are invariably the common people and not the ruling dictator we have been complaining about – whether it…

Arguments about the reality of climate change aside, desertification and depletion of water are undisputed facts, as are conflicts related to growing water scarcity. Melting of glacial ice is also a fact, and carries perhaps just as many consequences for the future of confrontation and conflict among states. Another politically heavy consequence of climate change, it appears to be benefiting…

It is a fact that science now has the capacity to introduce whole new species. The means of such creation is synbio, synthetic biology. To people with conservative ideas about humanity and nature (James Hughes would say bioconservative) the rapid development of synbio as an area of science may seem disturbing, but it is inevitable. While the Internet will be…

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