What to Expect from My Posts

Economics, Politics, Illinois, Science Fiction maybe?

A first post feels so nebulous and damning. I’m making this substack as a place to hold myself accountable to what I’m learning about the world by writing about it. Honesty can feel alienating right now; the world is a divisive place.

As a kid, I was surrounded by science fiction which made technological progress seem like a given. Space elevators, terraforming planets, androids . . . achievable! Always in the books, human interrelations were what put things out of whack. I’ve always wondered why we can’t conquer that aspect of humanity.

Art by Raymond VanTilburg (also that’s me in the box)

When I went back to college I did so with the intent to challenge my perspective. Hanging around economists held my science fiction brain down to reality. Sure, we can achieve these great things but at what social cost? Who will be willing to pay for expenditures into research? People collectively through taxes? The market? Cui Bono?

If you plan on reading my substack looking for an authority on a matter, you’re mistaken. This is a place where I can learn and bridge the child of myself with the real world. Hopefully what I write about helps fill the gaps in your own understanding or if it’s wrong you’ll tell me so I can be more diligent in my studies.

Yes I am a progressive democrat, I will look towards changing the world for the better through that lens. I also have friends who are avid anarchists/libertarian and they can have great counterpoints to what I believe. I studied economics, so I’ll say economist like things and make a point to hold myself accountable to my views through the social sciences. I love thinking about how we’re getting to where we’re going so transportation topics will come up frequently.

Most importantly, I am from Illinois and through the sunk cost fallacy I’ve decided to stick around and figure out how to grow this state. So expect me to post about Illinois.

This is the moment where I ask you Bernie Sanders style for your support, I’ll put fancy buttons to subscribe and share my post at the bottom. I’ll do better with formatting in the future.