Author Peter Corning

Fairness: Where the Justices Meet Justice

For better and worse, our Supreme Court is a political institution and not, despite its trappings, a temple of Olympian detachment — as the Roberts court has amply demonstrated. Sometimes the underling principles of justice are trampled upon.

Capitalism and Fairness

Capitalism provides a classic example of a double edged sword (Will Hutton, in his book Them and Us calls it a “tightrope”). He argues that fairness is a better ideological objective.

How Holistic Darwinism Trumps Neo-Conservatism

The capitalist, free market doctrine is utopian. Markets are “embedded” in human societies, and the basic needs of a society and its members cannot in the long run be subordinated to market efficiency. Holistic Darwinism adds an evolutionary/biological critique to this empirical reality.

So,What is Holistic Darwinism?

Holistic Darwinism is not an oxymoron. It’s a candidate name for a major paradigm shift that has been going on in evolutionary biology (and related fields) during the past several years.

Synergy Goes to War

Synergy is the underlying cause of collective violence, in nature and human societies alike. It is various forms of synergy that enable various animals collectively to achieve ends that would not otherwise be possible by acting alone.

The Science of Human Nature

Although the debate about human nature has been unabated among social, economic and political theorists for 2,000 years, there is quietly emerging an empirically based science of human nature, And there is good news.

Toward a New Social Contract

The social contract has become badly frayed over the past 30 years, as the gap between the rich and the poor has widened to Biblical proportions and an estimated one quarter of our population has sunk into more or less extreme poverty.