It is not something people seem to notice much, if they even think about it at all, but the existence of "legal persons" is behind some of the greatest dilemmas we face today, covering a wide range of topics which define the headlines every day. On the one hand, there are relatively obvious legalistic discussions about this concept. For example, in America, among the various institutional causes of the political malaise there today, at least in more learnèd discussions, one has been the Supreme Court's acceptance of the argument that lobbying corporations have "freedom of speech". Perhaps less obviously connected to such legal discussions, is the widespread concern about the worsening of income distribution in rich countries, and the increasingly obvious ability of the wealthy to avoid paying taxes. At least in a superficial way, this is so widely understood that it has spread all over social media. But what kind of problem is this, if it is not another one wher
Homo Deus is a publishing phenomenon of a type which we should be careful not to judge the wrong way. It is not an academic work, but it is also not just a collection of colourful trivia. Undoubtedly for many readers, much of the value of the book comes from the numerous witty and learned asides, which have undoubtedly increased the general knowledge of many people. For the much smaller number of people who will not be constantly surprised by the information in the book, the interesting contrasts and perspectives are still genuinely thought-provoking, multi-disciplinary and original. The book can in short be considered successful and well-made without it containing any new underlying arguments, and if we can find flaws in the ambitiously broad collection of asides and examples, this would not invalidate it overall either. Indeed, the book ends by offering a website where people can post suggested factual corrections. The book does however have a relatively clear underlying argument