What Habermas describes as ‘family-vocational privatism’, which is similar to what Williams (1983) recognizes as ‘mobile privatism’, can be considered in terms of a category of ‘self-seeking privatism’ (Lodziak, 1996), which is pursued by those for whom capitalism ‘pays off’ in terms of status, financial rewards and so on […]

The second is the contrast with the inarticulate stumblings, mumblings, evasions and half-truths of our current president.

For Santa Claus comes / With reindeer and sleigh / To fill up the stockings on glad Christmas Day. / And there in the library / Stands a great tree / With gifts all abloom, most lovely to see!

Our superpower competition will be reunified Germany (perhaps together with its European satellites) and expanding Japan (perhaps allied with China, if they can bring that off).