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Author Archives: Francesc Rodríguez Tous
The Fifth Risk, by Michael Lewis
When I was at the Bank of England, I remember discussing with someone over a coffee about the need to screen new candidates for a willingness to work as public servants. The idea—as argued by my counterpart—was that people who … Continue reading
National Populism, by Eatwell and Goodwin
National populists prioritize the culture and interests of the nation, and promise to give voice to a people who feel that they have been neglected, even held in contempt, by distant and often corrupt elites. The result of the Brexit … Continue reading
Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari
“… we are on the threshold of both heaven and hell, moving nervously between the gateway of the one and the anteroom of the other. History has still not decided where we will end up, and a string of coincidences … Continue reading
Top three books I read in 2019
I managed to reach my goal of reading 24 books in 2019. Ideally it should have been a simple linear process–you know, one book after the other, at more or less a pace of two a month–but it was not. … Continue reading
Defending economics (again)
From time to time I read one of those articles that attack economics and economists. The latest article of this type has appeared in the Australian edition of the Guardian: if economics is a science, why isn’t it being more helpful? … Continue reading
Reality is not what it seems, by Carlo Rovelli
I have been fascinated by astrophysics for a while. When I was younger, I used to read Stephen Hawking’s books as soon as they hit the stores. There is something fascinating in imagining the structure of the universe, defying common … Continue reading
Post-Truth, by Lee McIntyre
The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history. —George Orwell The book Post-Truth, by Lee McIntyre, opens with the above quote by George Orwell. Orwell, in fact, opens almost every chapter … Continue reading
Hitch 22, by Christopher Hitchens
“The man had more wit, style, and substance than a few civilisations I can name” (Sam Harris remembering to Christopher Hitchens) I don’t think I have ever read an autobiography (or memoirs, which is more precise in this case) in … Continue reading
Leaving the LibDems
After the Brexit referendum, back in June 2016–I remember the moment when I realised that Leave was going to win: I was in a restaurant in Lima, Peru, with my wife’s family, following the news thanks to their Wi-Fi–I felt … Continue reading
Free will
“Do you believe in free will?” “Yes, I have no choice” Christopher Hitchens What is free will? Free will is the ability to choose between different courses of action unimpeded (wikipedia). But what does it mean to be unimpeded? Unimpeded … Continue reading
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