The review examines 'Zuozhuan', an ancient Chinese historical text, exploring its content, context, and relevance to understanding societal transformation.

A review of Joe Henrich's 'The Weirdest People in the World', examining its argument that the Western Church's marriage regulations led to WEIRD psychology and modern economic growth.

A review of 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' analyzes Hitler's rise to power, identifying key factors to recognize potential authoritarian threats.

Scott Alexander critiques a study claiming an illusion of moral decline, pointing out methodological flaws and suggesting alternative explanations for the perception of declining morality.

Scott Alexander explores the ethics of eugenics and population control through fictional debates, comparing historical figures and policies.

Scott Alexander reviews the 'Malleus Maleficarum', a 15th-century witch-hunting manual, analyzing its content and historical context while reflecting on the dangers of limited knowledge.

This review examines Joseph Tainter's theory of societal collapse due to diminishing returns on complexity, critiquing aspects of the model and attempting to apply it to modern contexts.

Scott Alexander analyzes the current cultural climate, comparing it to historical norms of ideological conformity and discussing strategies to maintain intellectual freedom.

Scott Alexander reviews 'Secular Cycles', which proposes pre-industrial civilizations follow ~300 year cycles of growth and decline, examining the evidence and potential implications.

Scott Alexander reviews Foucault's 'Madness and Civilization', examining its controversial historical analysis of societal attitudes towards mental illness.

Scott Alexander argues that the Dark Ages in Western Europe (500-1000 AD) did occur, presenting evidence of economic, demographic, and intellectual decline during this period.

Scott Alexander criticizes a Boston Review article on futurism for focusing on identity politics rather than substantive future predictions, arguing this approach trivializes important technological and societal developments.

Scott Alexander explores the potential link between falling testosterone levels and declining crime rates, finding the hypothesis intriguing but ultimately insufficient to explain observed crime trends.

Scott compares ancient and modern descriptions of bipolar disorder, finding significant similarities that suggest the condition is biologically grounded rather than culturally determined.

Scott Alexander critiques the Reactionary concept of 'left singularity', arguing that reigns of terror typically follow repressive right-wing regimes rather than gradual leftward shifts in democracies.

Scott Alexander lists five reasons why Guy Fawkes Day should be forgotten, demonstrating how easy it is to generate arguments when one puts some thought into it.

This post systematically rebuts common Reactionary political beliefs on topics like societal decline, traditional governance, progress, and social issues through data analysis and historical examples.

Scott Alexander uses historical data to refute the Reactionary claim that modern society increases war, showing instead that violence has decreased significantly in progressive eras.

Scott argues that even if past cultures were superior, restoring them is impossible because cultures evolve to fit their technological conditions, which have changed dramatically.