In the last essay we established that in the ideology of liberal democracy resides a paradoxical kernel that struggles to compromise individual rights and collective good. The individual rights fundamental to the liberal side have to be – somewhat but necessarily – infringed upon by the democratic side embodying a Read more…
Liberty has been the buzzword for the last centuries. Throughout this time, we have neither managed to achieve it, nor rid ourselves of it. Whenever we attempt to go in either direction, we become insecure about our identity as well as our survival. And so, we always end up making Read more…
[English version available] Meta nħares lejn kif nagħtu nkoraġġiment lit-tfal, tolqotni b’mod partikolari l-kelma ‘Bravu’ jew ‘Brava’, li nużaw bħala titlu li suppost jirregala lit-tfal b’ċertu sens ta’ validament. Bħal ma student avvanzat jiġi mogħti t-titlu ta’ dottorat, jew impjegat titlu ġdid skond il-promotion, jew suldat jingħata skala ta’ Read more…
[Oriġinaljament miktuba bil-Malti] Upon observing how we provide encouragement to children, I am particularly struck by the term ‘Good Boy’ or ‘Good Girl’, which we use as a title that is meant to award children with a sense of validation. In the same manner by which an advanced student Read more…
It’s not really my thing to write film reviews, in spite of how much I enjoy the provocation of thoughts by movies, particularly the (relatively) low-budget independent ones. However, when it comes to Leos Carax’s Annette, it’s clear that it is the kind that would draw heavy criticism from those Read more…
There’s quite the tendency for any right that society grants its members, to soon become a duty. It is one’s duty to attend school, to vote, to be healthy… What about the right to happiness and enjoyment? The model Imagine a man, ordinarily bored while having a Friday Read more…
In past decades we have undergone a ‘revolution’ – for want of a better word – of emotional rediscovery. Its main chant has been a reaction against the stereotypical emotionally-unavailable father, reminiscing his days fighting in a war while compelling his son to man up, never cry, and stop being Read more…
While face masks have become emblematic of the past two years and the symbol of restrictions, their casual improper donning around the chin has also marked the growing restriction fatigue. The discrepancy between face masks and ‘chin diapers’ marks the gap between the laws that we, as a society, declare, Read more…
The relatively recent rise of cryptocurrency, championed by Bitcoin, is intimately bound to the alluring promise that one may conduct investment without the manipulation of banks. The main selling point is therefore: divest from governmental control and place your future in your hands. Against a backdrop of currency inflation, central Read more…
Looking at a busy bee, toiling hard and fast… as fast as my clock turns during a day of doing nothing. A day wasted, I’m first inclined to say. But then I wonder what makes a day not wasted, fruitful to say. I assume the bee goes back to Read more…
In the last post we explored the phenomenon by which social revolutions re-establish the old injustices they sought to eliminate. Its Sisyphean nature is due to none other than a structural commitment to the ideological form. Now, it is time to show in more detail how the reality of ‘upcoming Read more…
One particular social symptom which is hard not to notice is the trend of millennial couples adopting dogs and cats and ‘raising them as their own’. I admit, this fetish has bothered me for the past decade. And as the years passed, it has only become more prevalent, provoking me Read more…
An American Oedipus Imagine Oedipus after having plucked his eyes out from their sockets. He is now blind, lacking the important ability of sight, a tragic end to the story. But not in America. In the American Dream there is no room for tragedy, every end has to be the Read more…
[Oriġinaljament miktuba bil-Malti] Just last Monday, in Malta we witnessed the Minister for arts and culture having a slip of the tongue. When asked about the lack of measures in place to help artists during the pandemic, his reply was that the artist does not have a “business-oriented” IQ Read more…
[English version available] Nhar it-Tnejn li għadda, il-Ministru responsabbli għall-arti u l-kultura żelqulu xi ftit kelmiet li ma niżlux tajjeb. Meta mistoqsi dwar in-nuqqas ta’ miżuri li l-gvern ħa biex jiġu megħjuna l-artisti matul il-pandemija, ir-risposta tiegħu kienet sempliċiment li l-artisti m’għandhomx IQ “business oriented”u li l-arti hija biss Read more…
As the debate on gender representation rages on, we are going through the healthy reflection that some parts of society might be less represented at high-level governance. And for various reasons, we chose to segment society by gender and decided that the male-centric era of politics is over and actually Read more…
In the past five years, Malta has witnessed a wildfire of corruption revelations – from money laundering to outright assassination. On the one hand, there remains a total absence of radical change in domestic political culture, yet each time the corruption-of-the-month is revealed, in spite of the evident apathy, one Read more…