Articles on PR for People

How to Nurture a Democracy

A democratic political system can survive only if it is embedded in a society that allows it to thrive.  Rather like the three essentials for nurturing healthy plants (good soil, adequate water and sunlight), there are at least three nurturing elements that a society must provide, in order for democracy to prosper -- beyond the foundation of a healthy economy.  These elements are (1) the rule of law, (2) elections that are perceived as fair (and where the outcomes are respected), and (3) a political discourse that honors veracity and condemns lying and liars. 


The Shakespeare Industrial Complex

The Shakespeare Industrial Complex and the Miracle of the Virgin Playwright. The conventional Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare story requires a cognitive miracle.  So, why are there so many believers?


Trust: Why Does It Matter? How Did We Lose It?

Trust:  Why Does It Matter?  How Did We Lose It? It’s an indispensable lubricant in social life. And truthfulness is its twin sister. 


We All Live in Trump Tower Now!

We All Live in Trump Tower Now! Just look at the view!


Global Warming Will Ruin Your Stock Portfolio

Global Warming Will Ruin Your Stock Portfolio and it may happen sooner than you think.


Wisdom: It’s Time to Refurbish an Old Ideal

“Wisdom”.  The very word inspires awe.  It suggests pronouncements from the Oracle on Mount Olympus, or the stone tablets that Moses (purportedly) brought down from Mount Sinai, or the Analectsof Confucius, or Plato’s Republic, or the sayings of Mark Twain and Yogi Berra. I prefer to call it a distillation of seasoned experience by some of the battle-hardened veterans of the vicissitudes of life– people with a good heart who have served their time on the battlefield and want to pass on to others what they have learned about the art of living, and of politics. 


The “Self-Made Man”: The Model for Our Future is Us!

The debate about whether our species is in peril is over.  We must honor our ancestors by emulating their survival strategy, and their success.


What We Can Learn from Trees

No, it’s not a joke.  Trees have much to teach us, or at least underscore, about living together.  They have been doing it for many millions of years, and we are only now beginning to understand their remarkable social life.


Capitalism and the Collective Survival Enterprise

In his famous book, The Great Transformation(1944), the political economist/ anthropologist/sociologist Karl Polanyi produced a classic critique of the classic liberal (conservative) ideal of free market capitalism that still resonates today. 


Trumpty Dumpty

Trumpty Dumpty - If the past is a guide, a look ahead to America after Trump is troubling.