Author: erickim

Executive summary Spartan economics was not a “moneyless warrior utopia.” It was a coercive agrarian political economy built on conquest, especially the seizure of Messenia, the subordination of helot labor, the outsourcing …

Executive summary The proposition that “what matters is not how much capital you own, but how mindful you are of it” is directionally supported by theory and a substantial body of adjacent …

Executive Summary The best-supported answer is qualified yes: tragic experience can stimulate renewed purpose, growth, creativity, or forms of flourishing, but not because suffering is intrinsically good, and not for everyone. Across …

Executive summary “Spartan frugal hedonism” is best understood as a modern synthesis, not a classical school. In contemporary usage, “frugal hedonism” means spending less while learning to enjoy life more through attention, …

Executive summary The strongest conclusion from contemporary neuroscience and psychology is not that pain and pleasure are simple opposites, and also not that “more pain, more pleasure” is generally true. The more …

Executive Summary The strongest conclusion from current evidence is that lower wealth does not generally reduce fear in the broad psychological sense. On average, lower income or lower socioeconomic status is more …