Government Fiction

The Law was originally published as a pamphlet in French in 1850 by Frederic Bastiat. It is his most famous work and was written two years after the third French Revolution of 1848. It defines, through development, a just system of laws and then demonstrates how such law facilitates a free society. Bastiat was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly.

Who Died...and Left You in Charge? includes letters from my generation to the next generation about how we screwed up the accomplishments of greatest generation.

After winning the war for independence from Great Britain, the 13 adopted the Articles of Confederation as their system of government. However, the Articles proved to be ineffective, and only a few short years after gaining its independence, the young country was headed for fracture and failure. In the summer of 1787, 12 of the states (Rhode Island excepted) sent delegates to Philadelphia in a last-ditch effort to fix the Articles. But it soon became clear that the problems facing the young country were too great for the Articles of Confederation to address, even in an amended form. Thus, the delegates created a new Constitution.

In The Emergency State, leading global affairs commentator David C. Unger reveals the hidden costs of America's obsessive pursuit of absolute national security. In the decades since World War II, presidents from both parties have assumed broad war-making powers never intended by the Constitution and intervened abroad to preserve our credibility rather than our security, while trillions of tax dollars have been diverted from essential domestic needs to the Pentagon. Yet ironically, this pursuit has not just damaged our democracy and undermined our economic strength....

The downfall of Bo Xilai in China was more than a darkly thrilling mystery. It revealed a cataclysmic internal power struggle between Communist Party factions, one that reached all the way to China’s new president Xi Jinping. The scandalous story of the corruption of the Bo Xilai family - the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood; Bo’s secret lovers; the secret maneuverings of Bo’s supporters; the hasty trial and sentencing of Gu Kailai, Bo’s wife - was just the first rumble of a seismic power struggle that continues to rock the very foundation of China’s all-powerful Communist Party.

Our Founding Fathers created the Bill of Rights to document our inalienable rights and to strictly limit the government’s power. These ten amendments are the foundation of American Exceptionalism. Yet, that foundation is quickly eroding. With every new sweeping regulation and invasive policy, the Obama administration is twisting the Bill of Rights and corrupting its true purpose.

"Nationalismus ist untrennbar mit dem Streben nach Macht verbunden", aber nicht mit Patriotismus gleichzusetzen, so George Orwell in diesem kontroversen Essay. Was kennzeichnet nationalistisches Denken? Unter anderem der besessene Glaube an die eigene Überlegenheit und der Unwille, sein Handeln an realen Fakten auszurichten. Geschrieben 1945 und noch nie auf Deutsch erschienen, ist "Über Nationalismus" eine höchst zeitgemäße Lektüre und ein Plädoyer gegen den Rechtspopulismus.

Wie kann ein Fürst politische Macht erwerben und erhalten? Zahllosen Fürsten und Herrschern diente es als Handbuch für Politik. Oft als Verteidigung des Despotismus und der Tyrannei solcher Herrscher wie Cesare Borgia verstanden - ein Herrscher ist nicht an die überlieferten ethischen Normen gebunden. Nur der Erfolg zählt. Zeitlos modern für alle Gebiete der Wirtschaft und der Politik. Das berühmteste Werk Machiavellis.

Oscar Wilde wurde am 16.10.1854 in Dublin geboren. Sein Vater war Arzt, seine Mutter Dichterin. Wilde studierte in Dublin und Oxford. Seit 1879 lebte er in London. 1895 wurde er vom Vater seines Freundes Lord Douglas wegen homosexueller Neigungen angezeigt und zu zwei Jahren Zuchthaus verurteilt. Wilde starb am 30.11.1900 verarmt in Paris.

In this acclaimed Plato masterpiece, you travel back in time to attend an elaborate high society dinner. At this party, you meet Plato's mentor, Socrates, and the comic poet Aristophanes. During the banquet, each of these men is invited to praise Eros, the god of love and desire. You witness them deliver speeches that embody their wisdom and philosophies on love. You hear Socrates' celebrated account of Diotima, the prophetess who taught him that love is the manifestation of human goodness. Finally, you even hear from the famous Alcibiades.

Deutschland ganz unten, Deutschland ganz oben - und mittendrin: Stuckrad-Barre, mit Stift, Papier und Kamera...

On February 1, 2016, the date of the Iowa caucus, David Breskin began a project that would carry him through the American presidential election. An ex-journalist, Breskin set out to "cover" this most strange and historic election, under the pressure of a reporter's daily deadline, by writing one poem a day. He created a deliberately awkward, rollickingly restrictive form - seven beats per line, 11 lines per poem - and, noting our preference for the convenience of sound-bite news and junk-food polls over more nutritious fare, called them "7-11s".

The Prince is a treatise that systematically charts the best strategies for successful governing. It unapologetically places realism above idealism, showing would-be kings how to get what they want while appearing to be generous and honourable, and advocates that the means — cruelty, duplicity and horror —justify the ends of secure monarchical rule. But it can also be read as the work of a secret republican subtly undermining the despotism of the ruling Medici family.

Perhaps one of the most influential and controversial books in history, Machiavelli’s The Prince raises issues that are still debated centuries after its publication. The theories he developed in The Prince were derived from his observation of the successes and failures of the ruling class. The Prince was designed as a practical guide for newly appointed rulers and is required reading for all persons in a position of authority who strive for grandeur in business and politics.

Published in 1532 five years after Machiavelli’s death, the philosophies and implications introduced in the manifesto are continually referenced by today’s top business executives for insight into leadership, political theory, and ethics.

The Second World War represents one of humanity’s greatest tragedies. Yet in the thick of cruelty, suffering, and loss, ordinary women secretly stood against the Nazi regime, selflessly serving as bearers of peace and hope. They risked their lives to protect the persecuted without seeking reward or recognition.

"Es precisamente esa otra consolación ante la vejez […] lo que me mueve a mí […] a dirigirte ahora esta larga misiva desde Atenas. […]. Tú has dejado claro en tu obra, al hablarnos de que las dificultades de la vejez no provienen tanto de la edad como del carácter y de la actitud vital de las personas, que envejecer es, en un alto grado, un empeño ético; y yo deseo ahora que reflexionemos sobre si el hecho de que nuestra sociedad esté o no organizada y facultada para posibilitar dicho empeño no hace del envejecer, también, un propósito político".

Wir haben mehr Wissen als je zuvor, aber dies stimmt nicht mehr mit unseren Erfahrungen überein. Deshalb rufen wir im Zeitalter der wachsenden Überforderung unsere Leistungen, unsere Gefühle, unsere ganze Lebensbahn immer stärker wie Informationen ab und zerstören so unsere Fähigkeit, mit Unerwartetem umzugehen. Die Frage lautet, ob wir damit begonnen haben, uns selbst wie Computer zu behandeln, und ob der Preis für intelligente Maschinen dümmere Menschen sind.

Yeva Skalietska lebt ein normales Schülerinnen-Leben im ukrainischen Charkiw, als der Angriff der russischen Armee am 24. Februar 2022 ihrer Kindheit ein brutales Ende setzt. Denn fortan bestimmen Kriegsgeschehnisse ihren Alltag. Die Heimatstadt wird zerstört, Treffen mit Freundinnen sind nicht möglich, ein normaler Alltag existiert nicht mehr. Yeva ist zutiefst verstört und hält ihre Eindrücke seit Beginn des Krieges in ihrem Tagebuch fest.

La Primera República, 1873-1874, que acabó con el pronunciamiento de Martínez Campos y la restauración borbónica, y la Segunda República, de abril de 1931 hasta el inicio de la dictadura franquista, son dos épocas históricas vinculadas entre sí que guardan muchas de las claves para entender e interpretar nuestro presente ya que fundamentos ideológicos de la política actual tienen muchas de sus raíces en aquellos sucesos que marcaron definitivamente unos profundos cambios sociales.