The Herald reports: A bicultural overhaul of Army doctrine that features Māori cosmology at its core has led to a Government revolt, with the NZ Defence Force putting on hold part of the controversial programme. The NZ Army’s new “general orders” to soldiers uses a pantheon of te ao Māori gods as guiding influences for…
Woke Wellington strikes again
Woke Wellington strikes again
25 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of education, economics of religion, politics - New Zealand
Pinker and Tupy tout worldwide progress, espouse an objective morality
15 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, economics of religion, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech
In this Free Press article, Steve Pinker and Marian Tupy (the latter identified as “the founder and editor of HumanProgress.org, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and co-author of Superabundance”) once again recount the undoubtable progress that humanity has made over the past six or seven centuries. The progress described here will be familiar…
Pinker and Tupy tout worldwide progress, espouse an objective morality
In support of a pragmatic alliance
13 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of crime, economics of religion, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
For centuries, atheists, Christians, and Jews have regarded one another as intellectual and cultural adversaries. Their disagreements are real and often profound. They disagree about the existence of God, the authority of scripture, the nature of morality, the meaning of history, and the destiny of humanity. These disputes have generated entire libraries of argument and […]
In support of a pragmatic alliance
Iwi ensure respect is shown to a crash site – but how are the beliefs of crash victims and their families respected?
04 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of religion, liberalism, politics - New Zealand Tags: Freedom of religion
About this time a week ago, the New Zealand Police released a statement to report that two people had died in a helicopter crash north of Wellington earlier in the day. Work was under way to recover the deceased and to examine the crash scene, near the Battle Hill regional park. The statement included: Police […]
Iwi ensure respect is shown to a crash site – but how are the beliefs of crash victims and their families respected?
Yes Islamist terrorism is religiously inspired
21 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of religion, law and economics, liberalism, war and peace Tags: regressive left, war against terror
A crazy article by Halim Rane at the ABC: In the aftermath of violent attacks, public commentary quickly reaches for a familiar label like “religiously motivated terrorism”. The term sounds intuitive but it is analytically flawed, socially harmful and counter-productive to both national security and social cohesion. I would argue that a more accurate and useful…
Yes Islamist terrorism is religiously inspired
Western Leftists and Islamic States
14 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of media and culture, economics of religion, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: regressive left
Western leftists do criticise Islamic states at times—but they rarely prioritise opposing them, and often treat them with conspicuous restraint. That asymmetry is not accidental. It follows from the same ideological lenses that drive anti-Zionism. Here are the main reasons. 1. Anti-imperialism outweighs liberal values For much of the Western Left, opposition to Western power is the overriding moral […]
Western Leftists and Islamic States
Church of England orders parish to rip out brand new gas boilers
12 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of religion, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming
By Paul Homewood h/t Ian Magness Sometimes I wonder if I’ve woken up on a different planet! From the Telegraph: The Church of England has ordered a parish to rip out new gas boilers because they are not “sustainable”. Christ Church Chineham, in Basingstoke, Hants, spent £18,200 last year replacing two […]
Church of England orders parish to rip out brand new gas boilers
Sorry, But Pope Leo Is Mistaken
13 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of religion, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: The Great Enrichment
TweetHere’s a letter to a new correspondent. Mr. __: Thanks for sharing Sohrab Ahmari’s tweet, which I’d not otherwise have noticed. It is, frankly, pathetically inept. In order to criticize the pro-free-market Acton Institute, Ahmari favorably quotes Pope Leo’s assertion that “pseudo-scientific data are invoked to support the claim that a free market economy will…
Sorry, But Pope Leo Is Mistaken
Could China Have Gone Christian?
12 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of religion Tags: China
The Taiping Rebellion is arguably the most important event in modern history that even educated Westerners know very little about. It’s also known as the Taiping Civil War and it was one of the largest conflicts in human history (1850–1864), with death toll estimates ranging from 20 to 30 million, far exceeding deaths in the […]
Could China Have Gone Christian?
A schism between secular organizations
07 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, economics of religion, gender Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
You may recall that Richard Dawkins, Steve Pinker, and I resigned from the Honorary Board of the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) because they canceled a post I wrote for the FFRF—a statement they first vetted, approved, and published but then removed—without telling me or answering my email inquiries. (My canceled piece is archived here, […]
A schism between secular organizations
The End is Nigh: Liberal Justices Predict “Chaos” and the Demise of Public Education Without Mandatory LGBTQ Material
30 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of religion, politics - USA
Below is my column in The Hill on the ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor in favor of parents who want to withdraw their children from LGBTQ lessons in public schools. I agreed with the majority, but it was Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent (joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson) that was the most striking in its […]
The End is Nigh: Liberal Justices Predict “Chaos” and the Demise of Public Education Without Mandatory LGBTQ Material
Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ blasphemy
30 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of religion, law and economics Tags: Blasphemy, British politics, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
The latest Jesus and Mo cartoon, called “sky,” came with the caption, “Important court case today.” It’s this, from the National Secular Society: The prosecution of a man on trial tomorrow for burning a Quran could edge the UK “dangerously close to a prohibition on blasphemy”, the National Secular Society has warned. Hamit Coskun will stand […]
Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ blasphemy
Sacramental Snitches: Church to Excommunicate any Priests Complying with Washington State Law
15 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of religion, law and economics, politics - USA
We previously discussed the legislation passed by Washington State democrats that requires priests to violate the sanctity of the confessional to report child abuse. I described the law as “blatantly unconstitutional” in eviscerating the right to the free exercise of religion. The state is moving to create an effective system of sacramental snitches and the […]
Sacramental Snitches: Church to Excommunicate any Priests Complying with Washington State Law
The Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nazi Germany
26 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of religion, war and peace Tags: Nazi Germany, World War II
The Nazi regime, targeted numerous groups during its reign from 1933 to 1945. Among those persecuted were Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian denomination whose beliefs and practices placed them in direct opposition to Nazi ideology. Unlike many other victims of the regime, Jehovah’s Witnesses were not targeted based on race or ethnicity, but because of their […]
The Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nazi Germany
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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