Habits of the Heart

Category: Basic Income

  • Can Technology Humanize Us?

    Can Technology Humanize Us?

    In his book Team Human, Doug Rushkoff paints a dire picture of our current predicament: “Autonomous technologies, runaway markets, and weaponized media seem to have overturned civil society, paralyzing our ability to think constructively, connect meaningfully, or act purposefully. It feels as if civilization itself were on the brink… It doesn’t have to be this way.”…

  • Rashomon effect and understanding geopolitics in 2026: How to make sense of the world

    Rashomon effect and understanding geopolitics in 2026: How to make sense of the world

    We live in a post-modern world, where truth, with a certainty of 100% is very hard to establish, if not impossible. In a world of ubiquitous AI, seeing is not believing. We are also in a media context (in the USA and much of the West) where serious questioning of government propaganda is rare, if…

  • My Summer Reading List – 2025

    Every summer I share some of the best books I’ve read (or that are on my reading list). This year, I am sharing a list that is a bit different, one based on concepts/ ideas that are relevant, to understand, rather than recency of publication. Here goes: Welfare: book – Arguments for Welfare. Paul Spicker:…

  • Interview with Dr. K.T. Connor on ethics and public life 

    Dr. K.T. Connor was a Senior Adjunct Professor with the MPPA program until recently, for over a decade and brings a wealth of experience in ethics, business as well as public leadership. She served as the Managing Director of Applied Axiometrics. She is the head of a virtual collaboration of consultants using decision-theory-based assessments in…

  • What does it mean to run an “efficient,” government?: Some quick thoughts…: Part 1

    Efficiency is good when you are ordering a pack of batteries on Amazon (which I did, just a few hours ago), but not when you are seeking better social outcomes like greater inclusion, democracy or economic justice/protection. Efficiency has an angle of lean. A direction, a purpose and a vision. When we say we want…

  • Separating myths from realities about undocumented migrants

    Undocumented workers contribute close to 500 billion USD in terms of economic output in CA

  • What is the role of intellectuals in our social media driven world?

    What is the role of intellectuals in our world? A world that is almost anti-intellectual in its orientation – in the sense of being ephemeral, with fleeting attention spans, where the loudest – and most powerful voice – wins.  I came across this speech by Dr.Edward Said, one of the leading Arab intellectuals whose book…

  • How to teach difficult topics in times of crisis

    We are going through a crisis in Israel/ Palestine that could have global repercussions, if it is not contained, very soon. The scale, proportion and intensity of this “war” is unprecedented, with the situation on the ground changing day to day. These discussions (and similar ones) are likely to find their way into the class…

  • What is the case for the Direct Trade model? – Part 2

    Fairtrade is not the panacea it was meant to be. As more and more consumers and researchers realize this truth, we are left grasping for straws. “What do we do then, to ensure that our trade is ethical, benefits the manufacturers/ growers, more than the suppliers,” is a legitimate question to ask. @tlalipani

  • Hi-networth giving in America : a symptom of another gilded age?

    Felicity Huffman’s sentencing to 14 days in jail this week could be a turning point in American charity. It is among the few indictments of a rich person who used their money or influence to gain an advantage for them/their family. But a change in American attitudes towards charity and a turning point? How so,…

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