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Capitalism is an effervescent elixir. People clamor to catch a lift upward on the latest bubble even though deep down, most know there is only air beneath them. Stocks, tech valuations, real-estate speculation — it’s not the stuff of the economy that really matters, but rather, the timely exit fr…

[...] The musician has played versions of the same Brahms ballad for seven-and-a-half hours, followed, unexpectedly, by three other ballads in quick succession, each played only once. Tears begin to stream down Sibylla’s face. “It was as if after the illusion that you could have a thing 500 ways wi…

The capitalist accessories of our quest for generational belonging—from the products we consume and integrate into our personalities to the narrowing set of viable ways to make a living in today’s economy—have provided us all with infinite, shiny reasons to further segregate ourselves, to feel soli…

[...] Is it a sign of Boomers’ internal sociopathic confusion that they trumpeted the sacrifice of tens of thousands of soldiers while avoiding participating in the war effort at all costs, even if that meant passing the buck on to poorer, less educated, disproportionately black and brown draftees?…

Like the later Junger, Wilson advocates withdrawal from mass society, writing that “culture arises from secession.” Secession is not an uncommon goal in American life today. The coasts show a preference for one kind, anti-government ranchers for another. But nowhere is the idea more politically dev…