Mind Dump
Here's what I've been thinking about recently
As I’ve been wading back into the waters of this substack, there are a few things that have been on my mind. This is not my typical format, but I’ve lived four long years since I started this thing, so I’m going to allow myself a bit of a digression. Here are some stray thoughts that are not quite a full post but are things that are stewing in my mind:
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about dynamism vs. stasism. At a high level, dynamism embraces change, innovation, and decentralized problem-solving, trusting that progress emerges through experimentation and adaptation. Stasism, by contrast, seeks control and stability, favoring top-down regulation to manage uncertainty and preserve existing structures. I’ve found this a handy way to engage with the current discourse around Elon Musk, Steve Bannon, and the rise of the “tech oligarchs.” I was introduced to these terms via a great episode of The Remnant by guest Virginia Postrel. Her 1998 book The Future and Its Enemies is on my shelf waiting to be read but that concept has been in the back of my mind as I’ve listened to a lot of discourse around this subject. I have generally found myself persuaded by the “dynamist” arguments; still, as a conservative, I am also persuaded by the need to preserve existing structures unless there’s a compelling reason to throw them out. Thinking through these topics while listening to some recent interviews has been very helpful:
Related, The Free Press has been on fire lately, specifically with their Honestly with Bari Weiss podcast. Here are some recent favorites not listed above:
I went down a zoning rabbit hole (as evidenced by my post a couple of weeks back), which really means I’ve been thinking a lot about how we build our cities. On the one hand, strict zoning rules that limit density push new homes farther out, making providing roads, utilities, and services more expensive. Since residential areas don’t always generate enough tax revenue to cover these costs, cities often raise taxes, frustrating residents. At the same time, supporters of zoning argue that it helps maintain neighborhood character, prevent overcrowding, and reflect what homeowners want. Some also worry that removing these rules could lead to rapid development that strains schools, roads, and public spaces. This was a big topic during my county council campaign and one I’ve continued to think a lot about. In my digging, I found many arguments presented in Arbitrary Lines persuasive about abolishing zoning altogether, but this is undoubtedly a live topic I’m interested in.
Another area I’ve been thinking through lately is mimetic desire—the idea that we don’t just independently form our wants but instead model them on what others desire. Luke Burgis’ Wanting (which draws on René Girard) helped me see how this plays out in everything from politics to tech to urban planning. Burgis emphasizes that to escape the clutches of mimesis, we have to surround ourselves with different models. He proposes doing this by engaging with a broader intellectual tradition, which is why his Philosophy for Creators and Entrepreneurs: A Curated, Anti-Mimetic Reading List struck me. He argues that modern life is deeply siloed—business leaders talk only about efficiency, religious conversations often stay within their own theological shorthand, and intellectual discussions are confined to academia. This fragmentation makes it harder to form a cohesive view of meaning, creativity, and progress. His reading list challenges this by spanning centuries, requiring engagement with ideas that have shaped human civilization. Instead of only focusing on the latest thinkers or industry trends, he encourages cross-disciplinary reading—philosophy, history, theology—to build a richer framework for understanding what we create and why. It has made me reflect on how many of the debates I’m following—dynamism vs. stasism, zoning, tech oligarchs—aren’t just about policy choices but about deeper, competing visions of human flourishing shaped by what (and who) we allow to influence us. Last year, I listened to The Odyssey for the first time all the way through, and at the moment I’m reading Confessions by St Augustine. I hope to engage with more of these titles as I go.
Whew. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. See you again soon.
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