On genocide and the worst modern ideology
Some time ago I read Bradley Campbell's The Geometry of Genocide: A Study in Pure Sociology. Like his other books, it's short, to the point, and well worth reading. First,…
The politics of sociology
Consider the following quote: Sociology has recently been subject to a severe critique by Alvin Gouldner (1970), who has repeated and sought to document the charge that the theoretical orientations…
Actual communism is bad for your health
Saw this anti-communism meme today: (I couldn't find a higher res version.) Looks true enough, but perhaps cherry-picked. There were more than 6 countries in the ex-USSR. So I downloaded…
The dimensionality of politics
Most political science research is based on a 1 dimensional model of politics: left vs. right. However, this model is actually and obviously false in a nontrivial way. Take studies…
Authoritarianism and fertility: maybe, probably
Last year, this meme was floating around: The data are real enough, and the years are right. It seems that Franco was able to sustain fertility in Spain during his…