Category Archives: History

 Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy, published in 1844: Friedrich Engels

Posted on April 7, 2017 by odeboyz

“Malthus, the originator of this doctrine, maintains that population is always pressing on the means of subsistence; that as soon as production increases, population increases in the same proportion; and that the inherent tendency of the population to multiply in … Continue reading →

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Thomas Malthus and The Andover Workhouse Scandal 1845-6

Posted on April 7, 2017 by odeboyz

Deuteronomy 15:11 “There will always be poor in the land. Therefore I command you to be open handed…. Mark 4:25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even … Continue reading →

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A philosopher contemplates death: Voltaire (1770)

Posted on March 28, 2017 by odeboyz

In any case, Voltaire* added jocularly, he expected to die shortly and would soon find out who was right concerning immortality of the soul— Plato or Spinoza, Saint Paul or Epictetus, Christianity or Confucianism. *This is jocular because Voltaire was … Continue reading →

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Pollution in the ‘Good Old Days’: New York 1880

Posted on March 14, 2017 by odeboyz

By 1880, there were at least a hundred and fifty thousand horses living in New York, and probably a great many more. Each one relieved itself of, on average, twenty-two pounds of manure a day, meaning that the city’s production … Continue reading →

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The anti-Semitic Martin Luther

Posted on March 8, 2017 by odeboyz

Luther calls for the secular authorities to burn down all the synagogues and schools, and ‘what won’t burn should be covered over with earth, so that not a stone or piece of slag of it should be seen for all … Continue reading →

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Applauding Stalin: Living in a Totalitarian State

Posted on February 24, 2017 by odeboyz

This extended quotation from Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s book Gulag Archipelago illustrates the sheer unrelenting terror that citizens in the Soviet Union lived in during the 1930s. …………………………………….. At the conclusion of the conference, a tribute to Comrade Stalin was called for. … Continue reading →

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Could an objective observer have identified Nazi Germany as the ‘worst of the worst’ in the 1930s?

Posted on February 9, 2017 by odeboyz

The horrors of the Holocaust were a pivotal turning point in international relations. Interventionists believe the Holocaust was preventable. They further believe that diplomats prevented intervention because nation-states were deemed to be sovereign in their domestic policies. Implicit in interventionist … Continue reading →

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The Ricardian Curse, Margaret Thatcher and North Sea Oil

Posted on January 27, 2017 by odeboyz

Introduction Liz Truss hero worships Margaret Thatcher and emulated her when she too became prime minister in September 2022. Truss wrecked the UK economy in 48 hours of economic insanity. Margaret Thatcher wrecked the UK economy over a much longer … Continue reading →

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Some things never change: Ancient Rome

Posted on January 17, 2017 by odeboyz

Promises will cost you nothing. Everyone’s a millionaire where promises are concerned. Hope, if only she is duly fostered, holds out a long time. She’s a deceitful goddess, but a very useful one…. The really great problem, the problem that … Continue reading →

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Flogging and Courage: the British Army 1800-81

Posted on January 12, 2017 by odeboyz

Discipline in the British Army was sadistic. There was institutional savagery with floggings and public execution occurring so frequently they were normalised. The army had a subliminal desire to ‘toughen’ up soldiers for the ordeals that lay ahead of them. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, War | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment