On: The Next Decade Could Be Even Worse

[dredmorbius]

Peter Turchin's "cliodynamics", discussed several times previously on HN:

https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Peter%20Turchin

https://hn.algolia.com/?q=cliodynamics

[LeifCarrotson → dredmorbius]

I'd love to read an academic analysis of modern cultural, economic, and political trends, and am intrigued by the idea that we can study history scientifically.

But as an outsider, I have a limited awareness for arguments that might appear to be purely factual to this layman but would be controversial to an expert, and don't want to be radicalized by reading some extreme socialist or libertarian academic writing as if it were politically neutral and unbiased. Where do the worldviews and ideologies of authors in this space like like Turchin, Taleb, or Milanovic fall on the political spectrum? What can I read to get an overview of the subject?

I really enjoyed reading Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel", but was disappointed and surprised when I went to fact-check it later and found that that many of the neat and tidy organic-feeling arguments it contained were heavily disputed by many anthropologists.

[dredmorbius → LeifCarrotson]

Generally, the Santa Fe Institute may be a good starting point.

This approach also seems to be gaining broader currency, if you follow academic publishing trends (e.g., the New Books Network podcasts).