Suggested readings, 28 February 2021

Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week I think are worth checking out.

Joel de Ceulaer and Maarten Boudry, “Why Easing Restrictions Will Lead to More, not Less, Collateral Damage.” 26 Feb, Areo.

"[T]o claim that the cure is worse than the disease, as many lockdown sceptics have, is to make a grave mistake. To see why, we have to ask what would have happened without the lockdowns and other restrictions."

Ian Leslie, “How to have better arguments online.” 16 Feb, The Guardian.

"People skilled in the art of disagreement don’t just think about their own face; they’re highly attuned to the other’s face. One of the most powerful social skills is the ability to give face; to confirm the public image that the other person wishes to project. In any conversation, when the other person feels their desired face is being accepted and confirmed, they’re going to be a lot easier to deal with, and more likely to listen to what you have to say."

James Shotter, “European values: Poland’s media fears a crackdown.” 22 Feb, Financial Times.

"Some Polish journalists fear that the EU’s fifth biggest state could end up following a similar path to Hungary, where Viktor Orban’s government has suffocated much of the country’s independent media."

Ian Buruma, “Racism & Enlightenment.” 22 Feb, Persuasion.

Critics of everything associated with the Enlightenment have usually come from the political right, but now it is coming from the left as well

Max Roser, “The economies that are home to the poorest billions of people need to grow if we want global poverty to decline.” 22 Feb, Our World in Data.

"Lowering inequality is an important goal and it can help to reduce poverty, but it can not be the only way in which the world fights global poverty. The poorest people live in places where average incomes are very low. I am in favour of lower inequality, but I also believe that anyone who is concerned about global poverty should be in favour of strong economic growth in the economies that are home to the poorest billions in the world."

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