Modernization, the replacement of machines for muscle, is a universal social solvent. Even when resisted by traditional leaders, modernization erodes established social, economic patterns, and threatens ecosystems. As my friend Reverend Glover Wagner recently observed in another context, “The mind rebels at such a thought, but that’s the way God wired the universe”. The reason […]

My wife and I got new computers for Christmas, hers a tangerine, mine a blueberry iMac. Our only real decisions involved color. Thanks to Microsoft, we are sure to buy Macs-even though we’re not fond of their maker, Apple Computer, Inc. What explains this irony? First, unlike tractors, trucks, and chainsaws, I really don’t like […]