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← Corrupting the church was a prisoner's dilemma: a duke who declined to…
17 connected korrents · 14 moments from 23 Jan 1657 to 11 Sept 2026.
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religion Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Read this korrent: Corrupting the church was a prisoner's dilemma: a duke who declined to bribe the pope while his enemies bribed him was simply beaten. Corrupting the church was a prisoner's dilemma: a duke who declined to bribe the pope while his enemies bribed him was simply beaten. Last stated 4 months ago
16 Jun 2026
AP
Ada Palmer — holds since 2026-06-16 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The papacy made Italy uniquely unstable in Europe, because each new pope inherited a precedent that he could overthrow any government he liked. — tap to centre the map on it The papacy made Italy uniquely unstable in Europe, because each new pope inherited a precedent that he could overthrow any government he liked. Last stated 4 months ago
16 Jun 2026
AP
Ada Palmer — holds since 2026-06-16 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A wise ruler need not keep his word when it would harm him and its reasons are gone, because people are not wholly good — tap to centre the map on it A wise ruler need not keep his word when it would harm him and its reasons are gone, because people are not wholly good
NM
Niccolò Machiavelli — holds since c. 1513–1514 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Following one's conscience is no safe theory of governance, because private moral compasses err and disagree — tap to centre the map on it Following one's conscience is no safe theory of governance, because private moral compasses err and disagree Last stated 11 years ago
12 Oct 2015
KS
Kathryn Schulz — holds since 2015-10-12 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Disbelieving a church ruling on a matter of fact is not heresy, though it may be presumptuous, because on facts that authority is not infallible — tap to centre the map on it Disbelieving a church ruling on a matter of fact is not heresy, though it may be presumptuous, because on facts that authority is not infallible Last stated 370 years ago
23 Jan 1657
BP
Blaise Pascal — holds since 1657-01-23 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The moral Machiavelli draws from the Borgias is that we should imitate them: they fell to fortune, not to their choices. — tap to centre the map on it The moral Machiavelli draws from the Borgias is that we should imitate them: they fell to fortune, not to their choices. Last stated 4 months ago
16 Jun 2026
AP
Ada Palmer — holds since 2026-06-16 — tap for who they are
Same subject: For Machiavelli a man who can be killed on somebody's word is a slave, and a man protected by a system — however unfair that system is — is free. — tap to centre the map on it For Machiavelli a man who can be killed on somebody's word is a slave, and a man protected by a system — however unfair that system is — is free. Last stated 4 months ago
16 Jun 2026
AP
Ada Palmer — holds since 2026-06-16 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Machiavelli held that every institution is gradually corrupted and must be reformed back to its foundations or collapse under the weight of that corruption. — tap to centre the map on it Machiavelli held that every institution is gradually corrupted and must be reformed back to its foundations or collapse under the weight of that corruption. Last stated 4 months ago
16 Jun 2026
AP
Ada Palmer — holds since 2026-06-16 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Enslaving people strips them of half their virtue and teaches them fraud and cruelty, then blames them for dishonesty — tap to centre the map on it Enslaving people strips them of half their virtue and teaches them fraud and cruelty, then blames them for dishonesty Last stated 238 years ago
24 Mar 1789
OE
Olaudah Equiano — holds since 1789-03-24 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A company doing something at the edge of the Overton window has to hold two cultures at once — the true believers and the serious professionals who think they are crazy — and integrating them is what makes it work. — tap to centre the map on it A company doing something at the edge of the Overton window has to hold two cultures at once — the true believers and the serious professionals who think they are crazy — and integrating them is what makes it work. Last stated 3 months ago
7 Aug 2026
MH
Max Hodak — holds since 2026-08-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A new world order based on raw power is being drawn right now, and Europe has to fight for its place in it. — tap to centre the map on it A new world order based on raw power is being drawn right now, and Europe has to fight for its place in it. Last stated a year ago
10 Sept 2025
UL
Ursula von der Leyen — holds since 2025-09-10 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A tiny fraction of ancestry can carry the most important thing about a population: Yamnaya is only a few percent of DNA in India and yet it brought the language. — tap to centre the map on it A tiny fraction of ancestry can carry the most important thing about a population: Yamnaya is only a few percent of DNA in India and yet it brought the language. Last stated 6 months ago
8 May 2026
DR
David Reich — holds since 2026-05-08 — tap for who they are
Same subject: 'As long as it takes' lacks urgency, and it is a formula available to Ukraine's allies precisely because they are not the ones doing the fighting. — tap to centre the map on it 'As long as it takes' lacks urgency, and it is a formula available to Ukraine's allies precisely because they are not the ones doing the fighting. Last stated a year ago
10 Oct 2025
LF
Lawrence Freedman — holds since 2025-10-10 — tap for who they are
Same subject: 9/11 and Osama bin Laden's actions fundamentally shaped the world we live in today. — tap to centre the map on it 9/11 and Osama bin Laden's actions fundamentally shaped the world we live in today. Last stated a month ago
11 Sept 2026
MY
Matthew Yglesias — holds since 2026-09-11 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A ceasefire along the current lines would end the killing and still leave a long-term settlement between Russia and Ukraine possible. — tap to centre the map on it A ceasefire along the current lines would end the killing and still leave a long-term settlement between Russia and Ukraine possible. Last stated 2 months ago
26 Aug 2026
BM
Branko Milanovic — holds since 2026-08-26 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A century of fire suppression policy in the American West has dangerously overloaded forests with fuel and made megafires more likely. — tap to centre the map on it A century of fire suppression policy in the American West has dangerously overloaded forests with fuel and made megafires more likely. Last stated 2 months ago
22 Aug 2026
JP
Jennifer Pahlka — holds since 2026-08-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A Chinese crewed landing on the Moon before America returns would be a defeat for the free world. — tap to centre the map on it A Chinese crewed landing on the Moon before America returns would be a defeat for the free world. Last stated 2 months ago
18 Aug 2026
CH
Casey Handmer — holds since 2025-10-31 — tap for who they are
EB
Eric Berger — holds since 2026-08-18 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A city's first rail line comes in at a reasonable cost and every line after it does not, because the follow-up outgrows the in-house team that oversaw the pilot. — tap to centre the map on it A city's first rail line comes in at a reasonable cost and every line after it does not, because the follow-up outgrows the in-house team that oversaw the pilot. Last stated 2 years ago
7 Dec 2024
AL
Alon Levy — holds since 2024-12-07 — tap for who they are
At the centre
Corrupting the church was a prisoner's dilemma: a duke who declined to bribe the pope while his enemies bribed him was simply beaten.
Holds Read this korrent →
The papacy made Italy uniquely unstable in Europe, because each new pope inherited a precedent that he could overthrow any government he liked.
Holds
A wise ruler need not keep his word when it would harm him and its reasons are gone, because people are not wholly good
Last stated c. 1513–1514
Holds
Following one's conscience is no safe theory of governance, because private moral compasses err and disagree
Holds
Disbelieving a church ruling on a matter of fact is not heresy, though it may be presumptuous, because on facts that authority is not infallible
Holds
The moral Machiavelli draws from the Borgias is that we should imitate them: they fell to fortune, not to their choices.
Holds
For Machiavelli a man who can be killed on somebody's word is a slave, and a man protected by a system — however unfair that system is — is free.
Holds
Machiavelli held that every institution is gradually corrupted and must be reformed back to its foundations or collapse under the weight of that corruption.
Holds
Enslaving people strips them of half their virtue and teaches them fraud and cruelty, then blames them for dishonesty
Holds
A company doing something at the edge of the Overton window has to hold two cultures at once — the true believers and the serious professionals who think they are crazy — and integrating them is what makes it work.
Holds
A new world order based on raw power is being drawn right now, and Europe has to fight for its place in it.
Holds
A tiny fraction of ancestry can carry the most important thing about a population: Yamnaya is only a few percent of DNA in India and yet it brought the language.
Holds
'As long as it takes' lacks urgency, and it is a formula available to Ukraine's allies precisely because they are not the ones doing the fighting.
Holds
9/11 and Osama bin Laden's actions fundamentally shaped the world we live in today.
Holds
A ceasefire along the current lines would end the killing and still leave a long-term settlement between Russia and Ukraine possible.
Holds
A century of fire suppression policy in the American West has dangerously overloaded forests with fuel and made megafires more likely.
Holds
A Chinese crewed landing on the Moon before America returns would be a defeat for the free world.
Holds
A city's first rail line comes in at a reasonable cost and every line after it does not, because the follow-up outgrows the in-house team that oversaw the pilot.
Holds