Tell me if you think this sounds familiar: in its latter years (500-700 ace), the roman empire faced a formidable challenge from two devastating environmental forces — dramatic climate change and massive epidemic. As mark twain is supposed to have said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” During our own bout of climate … Continue reading Resilience in the Face of Climate Change and Epidemic: Ancient Rome and Today’s America
I published this op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News two years ago, in the early stages of the pandemic. Here’s a link to the original. If anything, its relevance is even more apparent now than it was in 2020. Consider the enormous shipping and trucking backlogs that are clogging up our economic system, and … Continue reading The Triumph of Efficiency over Effectiveness
Tell me if you think this sounds familiar: In its latter years (500-700 ACE), the Roman Empire faced a formidable challenge from two devastating environmental forces -- dramatic climate change and massive epidemic. As Mark Twain is supposed to have said, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." During our own bout of climate … Continue reading Resilience in the Face of Climate Change and Epidemic: Ancient Rome and Today’s America
{This piece was originally published in the San Jose Mercury News in July, 2020. Here's a link to the original.] The current covid-19 pandemic has shown a lot of things that are wrong in American society, including terrible leadership, a frail social safety net, and a lack of investment in public goods. But one that … Continue reading The Triumph of Efficiency over Effectiveness: A Brief for Resilience through Redundancy
David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing 