The Practical Utopian
Latest Original Content
Here is a list of original content recently added to our site.
The Progressive Problem
By Herb Bowie
No wonder zombie movies have been popular of late: so many of us feel like increasingly isolated survivors having to fight off forces that we thought were previously vanquished and long buried, forces that seem to be arising all around us, springing at us from all sides.
Blog Post | 2019 Jun 10
How to Fix Big Tech
By Herb Bowie
We all sort of know the problems, right? Monopolies. Lock-in. Stream addiction. Reality bubbles. Billionaires seeking market dominance. All other values taking a back seat to growth. I don’t think I need to elaborate. If you’re reading this, then you’re probably well aware of all these concerns.
Blog Post | 2019 May 22
Building a Case for the Detective Story
By Herb Bowie
Over the many years since the receipt of my Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Michigan, I have probably spent more rewarding hours reading detective stories than any other form of fiction.
Appreciation | 2019 May 07
The Challenge for Democrats: Playing the Long Game
By Herb Bowie
Right now Democrats are focused primarily on two things happening in 2020: 1. Beating Trump; 2. Regaining control of the Senate. These would both be great accomplishments for the party, and for the winning candidates. But for the country, not so much.
Blog Post | 2019 Apr 25
The Devastating Tragedy of our Vanishing Middle Class
By Herb Bowie
If you react in any of these typical ways, then I will argue today that you’re missing the bigger picture, and overlooking the most devastating consequences of our country’s loss of our middle class.
Blog Post | 2019 Apr 15
Paul Thorn and his 800 Pound Jesus
By Herb Bowie
I’d been aware of Paul Thorn for some time, but didn’t really become a fan until I saw him live last summer at The Ark in Ann Arbor.
Appreciation | 2019 Mar 26
How a Balanced Candidate Might Win the Presidency
By Herb Bowie
I wrote recently to express my skepticism about the chances of a centrist candidate becoming our next U.S. president. I write today to share my belief that a balanced candidate might well win.
Blog Post | 2019 Mar 25
My List of Requirements for our Next President
By Herb Bowie
While many of us are waiting for our 2020 presidential candidates to hit the road and give us a chance to to get to know them better, I decided to stop waiting and let them know what I’m looking for in a new president. I mean after all, it doesn’t seem fair to make them guess.
Blog Post | 2019 Mar 24
Citizen Kane vs. Citizen Bailey
By Herb Bowie
I’ve often considered Citizen Kane and It’s A Wonderful Life to be complementary works, much like cinematic twins separated at birth.
Blog Post | 2019 Mar 11
Our Three Human Approaches to Dealing with Problems
By Herb Bowie
We all run into challenges from time to time, whether at work, at home, or in our communities. In general, I would suggest, we have three different approaches available to us when we try to respond to such situations.
Blog Post | 2019 Mar 05
Science
By Herb Bowie
A belief in science is one of the core Practopian principles. We embrace science as one way of understanding the universe in which we live, and we accept toolmaking (aka engineering) as one means of improving the human condition.
Basic Info | 2019 Mar 04
Is There Any Middle Left?
By Herb Bowie
As the US political scene transitions from the Democratic successes in the midterms to the beginnings of the 2020 presidential contest, one of the most pressing questions to emerge is whether there is any meaningful middle ground remaining along the political spectrum stretching from left to right.
Blog Post | 2019 Feb 18
Rebuilding Trust In Our Large Institutions
By Herb Bowie
I find it fascinating to compare the original Star Trek television series with the first Star Wars movie. And I think this comparison can reveal a lot about the current state of our culture.
Blog Post | 2019 Feb 11
Our American Class System
By Herb Bowie
In short, this was a period of our history during which class distinctions seemed to be fading. Sure, some people had more money than others. My mother drove a Ford Falcon, my father drove a Mustang, and my Uncle drove a Thunderbird.
Blog Post | 2019 Jan 27
More Love
By Herb Bowie
For me, love is an elemental human feeling that helps to bind us to one another, and to the world around us. It is a feeling of care and appreciation for, and attachment to, people and things of value that have an independent existence outside of ourselves.
Basic Info | 2019 Jan 26
What We Can Learn from the Government Shutdown
By Herb Bowie
As I write this, those of us in the U.S. are on day 30 of a partial federal government shutdown whose effects are increasingly rippling through our society.
Blog Post | 2019 Jan 21
The Truth About Capitalism
By Herb Bowie
No matter which way you lean politically, you probably have strong feelings about capitalism. It seems to me that there are a lot of odd ideas on this topic running around out there in today’s world. Let me offer some thoughts about what seems true to me.
Blog Post | 2019 Jan 07
Have We Passed The Point of Maximum Useful Tech?
By Herb Bowie
What happened between 1990 and 2018? Who stuck the playing card between the spokes of the bicycle for my mind, turning a mental enabler into an annoying distraction?
Blog Post | 2018 Dec 17
The Value of Individuals
By Herb Bowie
A belief in the value of individuals is one of the core Practopian principles.
Basic Info | 2018 Dec 10
Calling for a US Sustainability Initiative
By Herb Bowie
Looking back over the history of the United States, it’s easy to see in hindsight a series of events and actions that have either united or divided us.
Blog Post | 2018 Dec 03
The Importance of Mission
By Herb Bowie
The dictionary on my Mac defines mission as “a strongly felt aim, ambition, or calling.”
Basic Info | 2018 Nov 26
A Broadcast Consciousness
By Herb Bowie
Let me take you on a little journey of thought exploring some hitherto unconsidered aspects of our common cultural evolution.
Blog Post | 2018 Nov 19
The Written Word in the 21st Century
By Herb Bowie
Whether we are talking about the King James Bible, The Catcher in the Rye, On the Origin of Species, or Wikipedia, we recognize that writing things down is an important means of preserving human knowledge and wisdom, and that both writing and reading are invaluable human activities.
Basic Info | 2018 Nov 12
My Advice to Young People of All Ages
By Herb Bowie
Today I’d like to change my focus and offer some advice for what people can and should do to improve their own personal lots in modern life. I have only a few recommendations, and they’re rather brief and straightforward, although I won’t claim they’re easy.
Blog Post | 2018 Oct 31
An Integral Approach
By Herb Bowie
A belief in an integral approach is one of the core Practopian principles. At its most basic, this principle simply means that people can see things from different perspectives, and that often no one way of seeing something is the “right” or only way.
Basic Info | 2018 Oct 26
Fruitcakes
By Herb Bowie
I’ve always considered this to be Jimmy Buffet’s masterwork. The musical backing is infectious, swaying and danceable, and the background vocals add depth. The words are cleverly crafted, and perfectly suited to Buffett’s conversational, wisecracking delivery.
Appreciation | 2018 Oct 13
Imperfection
By Herb Bowie
Belief in imperfection as a fundamental principle may seem like an odd concept but, in fact, it is an essential part of our thinking. Let’s look at some of the reasoning behind this principle.
Basic Info | 2018 Oct 11
US Political Observations for October 2018
By Herb Bowie
In this brief respite between primary season and the general US midterm elections in November, I thought it might be fitting to offer up a few suggestions to those of us who will be participating, whether as candidates or as voters.
Blog Post | 2018 Oct 04
Our Societal Disconnect
By Herb Bowie
I was thinking recently about my own upbringing in Annapolis, Maryland, back in the sixties, and it occurred to me that there were several aspects of my experience there and then that I took for granted, but that are no longer very common today.
Blog Post | 2018 Sep 26
The Village Green Preservation Society
By Herb Bowie
This is a rather amazing song by The Kinks, first released in 1968. I loved this song from the moment I first heard it, but my appreciation for it has only grown over the years.
Appreciation | 2018 Sep 21
Why I Call Myself a Practopian
By Herb Bowie
I suffered a crisis of faith a few years ago: a crisis of faith in my atheism.
Blog Post | 2018 Sep 15
Will the Circle be Unbroken
By Herb Bowie
It’s certainly fair to categorize this song as a religious one, and more particularly as a Christian song, and yet, even though I consider myself to be a non-believer, my lack of faith doesn’t diminish my appreciation for this song in the slightest: if anything, I think it increases it.
Appreciation | 2018 Aug 15
Cultural Evolution
By Herb Bowie
A belief in cultural evolution is one of the core Practopian principles. But what do we mean by human culture? And by its evolution? Let’s dive a little deeper to uncover some of the significant ideas lurking behind this simple statement.
Basic Info | 2018 Aug 13
A Twenty-Six Legged Stool?
By Herb Bowie
A few years ago, when I was teaching software development, I often invoked the image of a three-legged stool, with each leg representing one of the essential leadership roles: leave out any one of them, you see, and your project is liable to fall over.
Blog Post | 2018 Aug 04
Value Creation
By Herb Bowie
Many of the Practopian Core Beliefs will seem rather straightforward to most people: Liberty and Equality, for example, are fundamental human values that should sound familiar no matter what your background. The belief in the importance of Value Creation, on the other hand, may be puzzling to many.
Basic Info | 2018 Jul 24
What To Do About Big Business?
By Herb Bowie
Has business gotten too big? Rather than trying to answer this question directly, let’s start by reviewing the fundamental architecture of all modern societies.
Blog Post | 2018 Jul 02
Humanism
By Herb Bowie
The first Practopian core principle states that “We are humanistic: we are focused on human concerns and human potential.” The primary intent behind this statement is to signal that we don’t claim to represent any authority other than our own very human selves, and that we focus on the interests of….
Blog Post | 2018 Jun 22
Evolution and Its Implications
By Herb Bowie
A belief in evolution is one of the core Practopian principles. But to say that we believe in evolution means quite a bit more to us than simply a denial of creationism. We also mean to imply that we believe in natural selection as a process for improving things, including human culture.
Basic Info | 2018 May 22
Talking Openly about Hierarchy
By Herb Bowie
I sometimes think that at least half of the confusion we currently experience in our civil discourse stems from our inability to speak openly and honestly about the nature of hierarchy.
Blog Post | 2018 Apr 13
The Unraveling of The Common Good
By Herb Bowie
I’ve recently read The Common Good by Robert B. Reich, and can recommend it heartily. It’s a lovely little book that can help remind us all that we have obligations to the societies in which we live and work, and that contributing to the common good should be a daily calling for all of us.
Blog Post | 2018 Apr 10
A Traditional Remedy for the Facebook Problem: Competition
By Herb Bowie
Facebook has been in the news lately due to renewed privacy concerns, and many observers have called for various solutions, including pledges from CEO Mark Zuckerberg to do better, as well as increased government regulation.
Blog Post | 2018 Apr 05
A Practopian Approach to Gun Issues in the US
By Herb Bowie
The recent Florida school shooting has again propelled issues surrounding gun violence into the forefront of our national dialogue. The Core Practopian beliefs may seem very broad and general, but I’d like to illustrate how they can be usefully employed in a specific debate such as this one.
Blog Post | 2018 Feb 27
Technology Education for the Youth of Today
By Herb Bowie
I came across a couple of things recently that got me thinking about the value of technology education, and what that training should look like. The first item that caught my attention was Kirk McElhearn’s blog post about “The Tech Industry’s Tunnel Vision about Coding and Language.”
Blog Post | 2018 Jan 22
Art and the Eye of the Beholder
By Herb Bowie
I’ve noticed that Big Thinkers – people like Ken Wilber and Yuval Noah Harari – tend to get confused about art and why it matters.
Blog Post | 2017 Nov 15
Help! Help! The Robots are Coming!
By Herb Bowie
Many pundits today are predicting a future of robots equipped with artificial intelligence so powerful that they will essentially render great swaths of humanity obsolete. Let me just make a few points concerning such imaginings.
Blog Post | 2017 Aug 23
Our American Identity: Where To Next?
By Herb Bowie
Like many of my fellow citizens, I’ve been struggling in recent months to understand exactly what it means to be American these days – to identify the central elements of our collective identity that still bind us together as some kind of unified whole.
Blog Post | 2017 Jul 13
In Defense of Balance
By Herb Bowie
When I founded The Society for Practical Utopians, I based it on a fundamental set of beliefs, divided up into principles and values. And the very first value, the one given preeminent position, is balance.
Blog Post | 2017 Jun 12
A Compact, Extensible, Open-Source Belief System for the 21st Century
By Herb Bowie
It often seems that there is little in this modern world that any two of us can agree on.
Blog Post | 2017 Mar 26
Human Population Growth
By Herb Bowie
If sustainability is the most serious issue of our time, then human population growth is certainly one of the most vital tools we have for making progress in this area. Let’s look at the topic of human population growth from a number of different perspectives.
Issue | 2017 Mar 18
Capitalists who worship only at the feet of capitalism
Democratic capitalism is a wonderful device precisely because it maximizes the ability of individuals within society to singly and collectively pursue the ends that they find to be important and meaningful; the accomplishments of a capitalistic society are noble and grand to the extent….
Quotation by Herb Bowie | 2017 Feb 17
Another Way to Think about the US Elections
By Herb Bowie
I was recently puzzling over the still surprising victory of Donald Trump in the recent US Presidential elections, when it occurred to me that there is another way to think about this whole chain of events.
Blog Post | 2016 Dec 29
Christmas For All
By Herb Bowie
Here we are at the end of another year, well into what many of us call the Holiday Season.
Blog Post | 2016 Dec 08
Sustainability
By Herb Bowie
As Practical Utopians, we want our culture to continue to evolve towards better and brighter outcomes for humanity. The biggest threat we see to this continued evolution is our ongoing exhaustion and degradation of our natural environment here on Earth.
Issue | 2016 Nov 23
Making Sense of What Happened on Nov 8
By Herb Bowie
Trying hard to make sense of what happened last night. Here are my thoughts. 1. Our country is almost equally divided into two camps.
Blog Post | 2016 Nov 09
What We Need After the Election
By Herb Bowie
It may be too early to know who will win on Tuesday, but it’s not too early to assess the major issues roiling the electorate and offer a few thoughts about what needs to happen after the voting is over – no matter who comes out on top.
Blog Post | 2016 Nov 03
Having Fewer Children and Grandchildren
On the subject of climate change, I think we need to not only think of what sort of planet we will be leaving to our children and grandchildren, but start to think about leaving fewer children and grandchildren for our planet to have to sustain.
Quotation by Herb Bowie | 2016 Sep 17
Developmental Levels as Evolving Social Structures
By Herb Bowie
As human society has evolved over the centuries, we have developed different types of social structures.
Blog Post | 2016 Jan 10
Religion, Storytelling and Art
By Herb Bowie
Religion can be thought of as a collection of shared cultural artifacts that provide a sense of meaning about human existence.
Blog Post | 2014 Nov 27
Human Nature
By Herb Bowie
What does it mean to be human? This must certainly be a foundational question for all of us, when contemplating almost any aspect of our existence.
Blog Post | 2013 Dec 15
The Four Quadrants of Human Knowledge
By Herb Bowie
I first came across Ken Wilber’s work late in the last century when a friend handed me a copy of A Brief History of Everything as a birthday present. Wilber has described four quadrants of human knowledge, each representing a different and valid perspective on the same reality.
Blog Post | 2012 Oct 26
Religious Freedom
By Herb Bowie
When it comes to religion, I have to confess to being a bit of a mongrel. My mother was a Methodist. My father was a nudist. And I once called myself an immortalist. These days I choose not to align myself with any particular religious group.
Blog Post | 2012 Aug 04
The Nature of God
By Herb Bowie
Human records indicate that some sort of belief in a God or collection of gods is a feature of almost all human culture. No matter what the continent or age, a belief in powerful, supernatural beings that somehow influence human existence is a near-constant.
Blog Post | 2012 Mar 10
Reasons for Belief
By Herb Bowie
We often seem to assume that people say things, and come to believe them, because they are true. It seems to me, though, that people take up beliefs for a whole host of reasons, and the likely truth or falsehood of these statements is often the least of the motivating factors at work.
Blog Post | 2012 Feb 21
The Systemic Era
By Herb Bowie
We tend to divide up human history into relatively neat periods, and give them names like “The Agrarian Era,” “The Age of Industrialization” and “The Information Age.” When I look at what’s going on around me today and try to make sense of it, I am forced to draw the conclusion that we are deep….
Blog Post | 2011 Aug 15
The Tautness of this Resonant Connection
No matter what the form, all art seems to produce a similar sensation – of timelessness, of implicit order, of connectedness.
Quotation by Herb Bowie | 2010 Nov 20
Developmental Levels
By Herb Bowie
A number of authors and systems of thought espouse one or another series of developmental levels, in fields of study as diverse as psychology, sociology, economics and organizational development.
Blog Post | 2009 Oct 22
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