Loading…
For the new reader
Start Here
There's no right order to read a paper like this, but there is a better one than reverse-chronological. What follows is the sequence I'd hand to someone who asked what the whole thing is about — four essays that between them set out the method, the central question, and what the method looks like applied.
If you only read one, read the second.
Culture/Society5 min
Against the marketplace of ideas
What it looks like when the method is turned on a position I hold. The conclusion survives; the argument usually given for it does not.
Economics5 min
The tyranny of small decisions
A 1966 paper about railway timetables that turns out to be about almost everything. The clearest case of an idea from economics earning its keep in politics.
History5 min
What makes a government legitimate?
The central question of the whole paper, and the essay everything else refers back to. Three theories of political authority, each of which fails where the others succeed.
Philosophy4 min
The strongest version of the argument
The method the rest of the paper runs on. If you want to know what kind of argument you're going to get here, this is it.
Or browse everything in the archive
Subscriptions
Delivered to your inbox
Each new essay, sent when it's finished. No schedule, no fixed length, and nothing else — unsubscribe whenever you like.
Demo only — addresses are logged to the server console, not stored or sent anywhere. Wire up a provider in src/app/api/subscribe/route.ts.