Ancient Trade and Commerce
In the decades after the Second World War, California achieved an iconic status. Hollywood productions portrayed the region as a virtual paradise, with glistening sandy beaches and perfect weather year round, construction and the aerospace industries were bombing. Jobs were plentiful, and they paid an ample living wage. Public schools were excellent and they became … Read more
Ancient naval warfare under oars involved the use of galleys propelled by oarsmen, which were primarily designed for close combat tactics like ramming and boarding enemy ships. Despite many Hollywood scenes, to the contrary these ships were not always manned by slaves chained to the hull. This method of naval warfare dominated naval tactics from … Read more
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On December 22nd, 2025, President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of the Navy, John C. Phelan, alongside Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, announced their intent to construct a new class of American-designed battleships that will be “the most lethal surface combatant ever constructed.” Peace through strength! Right? The shy, retiring and ever … Read more
China has been the central power of Asia, the center of Asian culture and of the source of the progress of Asian civilization for the last 5000 years. China is and has been the “central kingdom” and as such has been the natural “ruler of all under heaven.” The continuity of Chinese culture is poorly … Read more
In 1916 Vladimir Lenin wrote his book Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. In that book he asserts that successful and competitive capitalist enterprises work hard to become monopolies in their market areas. They each want to be the last man standing in their sector of the market. Of course, Lenin wrote that book as … Read more
In ancient Israel the sabbatical year (ever 7th year) was not only a year of allowing fields to be left fallow, it was also a year of debt forgiveness(Deuteronomy 15:1-2). In China the ancient tradition of repaying debts before the Chinese New Year stems from the belief that starting the new year free of financial … Read more
The most core and basic of all human nature is self-interest. This is the nature we are all born with. Every baby cries to be fed or changed. One of the first words we all learn as infants is “MINE!” On the other hand, sharing is an unnatural, taught behavior. Teaching a youngster to share … Read more
Polanyi famously asserted that: “The victory of fascism was made practically unavoidable by the liberals’ obstruction of any reform involving planning, regulation or control.” The Hungarian intellectual Karl Paul Polanyi (1886 to 1964) was an Austro-Hungarian economic anthropologist and politician, who was raised in Budapest, Hungary by his affluent German-speaking Jewish family who were well … Read more
John Maynard Keynes was born in Cambridge, England in 1883, to a privileged elitist academic family. Keynes became an influential economist and he is best known for his economic theories on the causes of prolonged unemployment, and for his most influential work, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, which was first published in … Read more
Walter Bagehot was a mid-Victorian era journalist in Britain who married the eldest daughter of James Wilson, the founder of The Economist magazine. When Mr. Wilson died in 1860, Walter became the editor in chief of The Economist. Over the next 17 years that he held that position, he transformed the journal into one of … Read more
A Christian world view is a “God’s eye” view of the world. Creation is both visible (the physical world) and invisible (the metaphysical, “spiritual” world). Ancient Christianity understands that the visible and invisible worlds are coexistent, transcendent and indistinguishable.
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