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Confucianism On The Comeback: Current Trends In Culture, Values, Politics, And Economy, Stephen C. Angle Dec 2009

Confucianism On The Comeback: Current Trends In Culture, Values, Politics, And Economy, Stephen C. Angle

Stephen C. Angle

There is ample evidence that Confucianism is undergoing a multi-faceted revival in contemporary China. We see this in government slogans, in a runaway best-seller on the Analects, in educational experiments, and in academic activities. There are many motivations for the renewed interest in Confucianism and many different ways that self- avowed proponents of Confucianism understand their ultimate goals. As we seek to understand and teach about China, we need to keep these complexities in mind as we convey the multiple sides of a rapidly changing society.

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The Desert Of The Real: Christianity, Buddhism & Baudrillard In The Matrix Films And Popular Culture, James F. Mcgrath Dec 2009

The Desert Of The Real: Christianity, Buddhism & Baudrillard In The Matrix Films And Popular Culture, James F. Mcgrath

James F. McGrath

The movie The Matrix and its sequels draw explicitly on imagery from a number of sources, including in particular Buddhism, Christianity, and the writings of Jean Baudrillard. A perspective is offered on the perennial philosophical question ‘What is real?’, using language and symbols drawn from three seemingly incompatible world views. In doing so, these movies provide us with an insight into the way popular culture makes eclectic use of various streams of thought to fashion a new reality that is not unrelated to, and yet is nonetheless distinct from, its religious and philosophical undercurrents and underpinnings.

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Lessons Of The Alaska Dividend, Karl Widerquist Dec 2009

Lessons Of The Alaska Dividend, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

At a time when progressive social policies are under attack across the industrialized world, the Alaska Dividend continues to be extremely popular. It distributes a yearly dividend to every man, woman, and child in Alaska without any conditions whatsoever. It has helped Alaska maintain one of the lowest poverty rates in the United States. It has helped Alaska become the most economically equal of all 50 states. And it has helped Alaska become the only U.S. state in which equality has risen rather than fallen over the last 20 years. Certainly Alaska is doing something right. As newsletter editor for …

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I Have A Basic Income, Karl Widerquist Dec 2009

I Have A Basic Income, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

In a period of about eight months, I managed to save and invest enough money to get myself a small personal basic income. It was easy—if you get the kind of lucky breaks I got. I’m telling you this story only because it illustrates how much our economic fortunes are determined by luck, how favorably our laws treat people who own stuff (people who have obtained control of natural resources) and how much unearned income is available for redistribution.

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Review Of Bol: Neo-Confucianism In History, Stephen C. Angle Dec 2009

Review Of Bol: Neo-Confucianism In History, Stephen C. Angle

Stephen C. Angle

Peter Bol’s first book, This Culture of Ours (Stanford, 1992), changed the way we understand the crucial intellectual and social changes from the Tang to the Song. That book ended with Cheng Yi and the rise of Daoxue (or Neo-Confucianism). One purpose of his new book is to pick up the story where This Culture of Ours left off, now explaining the intellectual and social factors that led Neo-Confucianism to become a successful movement — a movement that ultimately played a major role in shaping late imperial Chinese history. This is already an ambitious goal, and one the Bol fulfills …

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Come, Follow Me - Mixed Choir, Keith D. Rowley Dec 2009