Essays by Peter Banks on politics, markets, history, and technology. Mirrored from Substack.https://peterbanks.org/en-ushttps://peterbanks.org/essays/we-are-the-soviets-in-1972/https://peterbanks.org/essays/we-are-the-soviets-in-1972/That gives us some 20 years to prepareSat, 22 Aug 2026 19:55:24 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/my-ranking-of-us-presidents/https://peterbanks.org/essays/my-ranking-of-us-presidents/proof I'm not audience capturedMon, 17 Aug 2026 15:01:16 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/2026-community-presidential-tier/https://peterbanks.org/essays/2026-community-presidential-tier/The "official" rankingTue, 04 Aug 2026 14:45:04 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/it-is-always-worth-trying/https://peterbanks.org/essays/it-is-always-worth-trying/Today is a blessed celebratory day in the Banks household.Mon, 03 Aug 2026 15:58:45 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/a-historical-pet-peeve-of-mine/https://peterbanks.org/essays/a-historical-pet-peeve-of-mine/Versailles was a bad peaceSun, 02 Aug 2026 13:09:19 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/trump-was-wrong-on-iran/https://peterbanks.org/essays/trump-was-wrong-on-iran/Day 154 of the four week warFri, 31 Jul 2026 17:25:39 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/introductions/yarvin-a-gentle-introduction/https://peterbanks.org/introductions/yarvin-a-gentle-introduction/The manic pixie nymph of the early internetWed, 22 Jul 2026 02:20:23 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/land-reform-kills-the-aristocracy/https://peterbanks.org/essays/land-reform-kills-the-aristocracy/that and the Industrial RevolutionSun, 19 Jul 2026 16:42:51 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/industrialized-feudalism/https://peterbanks.org/essays/industrialized-feudalism/Why it worked is why it failedSat, 18 Jul 2026 22:45:12 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/form-tested-welfare/https://peterbanks.org/essays/form-tested-welfare/and other Kafkaesque horrorsMon, 06 Jul 2026 15:28:08 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/who-was-the-best-us-president/https://peterbanks.org/essays/who-was-the-best-us-president/Results of the community poll from Washington to LincolnMon, 29 Jun 2026 15:02:04 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/chatting-with-prester-john-andrews/https://peterbanks.org/essays/chatting-with-prester-john-andrews/Solving the worlds problems one yap session at a timeWed, 24 Jun 2026 16:02:01 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/juneteenth-could-be-a-big-holiday/https://peterbanks.org/essays/juneteenth-could-be-a-big-holiday/Let's just do itFri, 19 Jun 2026 18:12:33 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/if-it-is-the-phones-that-are-making/https://peterbanks.org/essays/if-it-is-the-phones-that-are-making/Seriously.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 23:11:46 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/okay-but-seriously-where-are-the/https://peterbanks.org/essays/okay-but-seriously-where-are-the/The (re)Birth of TragedySat, 06 Jun 2026 20:42:10 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/no-one-would-use-californias-train/https://peterbanks.org/essays/no-one-would-use-californias-train/I would argue there are upsides to the way we currently do stuff.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:34:24 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/contra-noah-smith-on-liberal-nationalism/https://peterbanks.org/essays/contra-noah-smith-on-liberal-nationalism/The problem is partisanshipSat, 30 May 2026 14:21:59 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/a-possible-history-of-catastrophe/https://peterbanks.org/essays/a-possible-history-of-catastrophe/Thinking about where we might be headed and explaining the setting of my book.Wed, 27 May 2026 20:21:46 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/wilson-was-a-fine-president/https://peterbanks.org/essays/wilson-was-a-fine-president/What happens when you have no fans...Tue, 05 May 2026 20:56:41 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/you-can-repeal-bad-laws/https://peterbanks.org/essays/you-can-repeal-bad-laws/Endless tweaking only gets you so far.Mon, 04 May 2026 14:50:46 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/chatting-with-me-rothwell/https://peterbanks.org/essays/chatting-with-me-rothwell/History, the universe, and everythingMon, 04 May 2026 01:29:58 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/eu5-mostly-harmless-and-deeply-confused/https://peterbanks.org/essays/eu5-mostly-harmless-and-deeply-confused/7/10. It is well worth the money.Sat, 02 May 2026 03:58:44 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/novels/we-must-cultivate-our-garden/https://peterbanks.org/novels/we-must-cultivate-our-garden/An open betaSun, 26 Apr 2026 02:43:24 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/you-can-and-should-ignore-most-suffering/https://peterbanks.org/essays/you-can-and-should-ignore-most-suffering/Celebrate your privilegeMon, 20 Apr 2026 14:51:35 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/my-contemporaries/https://peterbanks.org/essays/my-contemporaries/Archetypes from my Time and PlaceTue, 14 Apr 2026 21:35:03 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/double-edged-sword-of-meritocracy/https://peterbanks.org/essays/double-edged-sword-of-meritocracy/Thoughts on Meritocracy from almost exactly two years agoMon, 23 Mar 2026 13:39:28 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/introductions/nietzsche-a-gentle-introduction/https://peterbanks.org/introductions/nietzsche-a-gentle-introduction/If you gaze long enough into the abyss eventually the abyss looks backSun, 22 Mar 2026 04:44:07 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/introductions/carlyle-a-gentle-introduction/https://peterbanks.org/introductions/carlyle-a-gentle-introduction/Or why Great Man Theory is correctTue, 17 Mar 2026 21:23:28 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/real-tedmaxxing-is-funmaxxing/https://peterbanks.org/essays/real-tedmaxxing-is-funmaxxing/"The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been [fine, probably] for the human race."Sun, 15 Mar 2026 05:43:04 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/someone-is-deeply-wrong-about-iran/https://peterbanks.org/essays/someone-is-deeply-wrong-about-iran/This is Trump's war either wayThu, 12 Mar 2026 17:14:26 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/aliens-arent-real/https://peterbanks.org/essays/aliens-arent-real/It's just us on this ride, for now.Sun, 15 Feb 2026 03:58:34 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/a-chat-jacob-savage-the-author-of/https://peterbanks.org/essays/a-chat-jacob-savage-the-author-of/Just two White guys chatting.Thu, 12 Feb 2026 17:39:09 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/girls-are-bayesian-boys-are-axiomatic/https://peterbanks.org/essays/girls-are-bayesian-boys-are-axiomatic/My first foray into gender slop.Wed, 04 Feb 2026 01:38:51 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/why-hasnt-trump-collapsed-so-far/https://peterbanks.org/essays/why-hasnt-trump-collapsed-so-far/The uncomfortable truth is that the things YOU view as disqualifying are exactly the things his supporters view as necessary.Wed, 21 Jan 2026 18:48:19 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/3-thoughts-on-our-special-military/https://peterbanks.org/essays/3-thoughts-on-our-special-military/reflections on the most recent newsSun, 04 Jan 2026 04:42:30 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/we-stand-halfway-between-two-points/https://peterbanks.org/essays/we-stand-halfway-between-two-points/If you want to imagine the future of humanity, imagine a man experiencing the same joy at the thought of checking his emails as you do seeing a long-lost friend.Sun, 21 Dec 2025 16:35:27 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-last-jedi-a-hate-letter/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-last-jedi-a-hate-letter/Reviewing a casualty of 2017Fri, 19 Sep 2025 02:56:41 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/boyd-essay-contest-call-for-submissions/https://peterbanks.org/essays/boyd-essay-contest-call-for-submissions/Mon, 15 Sep 2025 17:00:45 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/boyd-essay-contest-your-idea-could/https://peterbanks.org/essays/boyd-essay-contest-your-idea-could/Fri, 12 Sep 2025 18:01:14 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/get-married/https://peterbanks.org/essays/get-married/A message to young hetero men.Mon, 08 Sep 2025 22:23:56 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/subscribe-to-boyds-youtube-channel/https://peterbanks.org/essays/subscribe-to-boyds-youtube-channel/Check out my new projectTue, 19 Aug 2025 14:00:41 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/what-happened-to-youth-culture/https://peterbanks.org/essays/what-happened-to-youth-culture/A collection of thoughts on Zoomers and Zooming.Mon, 11 Aug 2025 13:12:29 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/we-live-in-a-golden-age/https://peterbanks.org/essays/we-live-in-a-golden-age/Peace with strength.Fri, 08 Aug 2025 12:20:55 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/moving-on-from-stanford/https://peterbanks.org/essays/moving-on-from-stanford/The jig is up!Thu, 07 Aug 2025 12:27:54 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/writing-is-a-time-machine/https://peterbanks.org/essays/writing-is-a-time-machine/An excerpt from 2021Wed, 30 Jul 2025 23:00:41 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/data-tuesday-45-years-of-us-budget/https://peterbanks.org/essays/data-tuesday-45-years-of-us-budget/Very cool!Tue, 22 Jul 2025 17:39:46 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/who-reads-this-thing-anyway/https://peterbanks.org/essays/who-reads-this-thing-anyway/Following up on the community pollWed, 16 Jul 2025 16:49:15 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/data-tuesday-20-years-of-us-elections/https://peterbanks.org/essays/data-tuesday-20-years-of-us-elections/Reason #1000 dot maps are a superior formatTue, 15 Jul 2025 23:30:44 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/introductions/ai-a-gentle-introduction/https://peterbanks.org/introductions/ai-a-gentle-introduction/Grok goes full MechaHitlerMon, 14 Jul 2025 22:19:53 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/data-tuesday-human-geography-nyc/https://peterbanks.org/essays/data-tuesday-human-geography-nyc/A Snapshot of NYC’s Human GeographyTue, 08 Jul 2025 16:11:59 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/how-to-not-go-insane-writing-on-substack/https://peterbanks.org/essays/how-to-not-go-insane-writing-on-substack/Or why I block and mute with reckless abandonSun, 06 Jul 2025 21:37:24 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/community-polls/https://peterbanks.org/essays/community-polls/Celebrate Democracy with PollsFri, 04 Jul 2025 16:33:27 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/multi-party-us/https://peterbanks.org/essays/multi-party-us/What if we were more like Europe?Wed, 02 Jul 2025 19:04:32 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/data-tuesday-chicago-demographics/https://peterbanks.org/essays/data-tuesday-chicago-demographics/9 Maps for 9 DecadesWed, 02 Jul 2025 02:57:19 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/india-china-africa-and-progress/https://peterbanks.org/essays/india-china-africa-and-progress/A gradual return to "normal".Mon, 30 Jun 2025 21:44:01 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/just-be-human/https://peterbanks.org/essays/just-be-human/You can be nothing else.Sat, 28 Jun 2025 17:03:57 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/crossing-america/https://peterbanks.org/essays/crossing-america/Reflections on a drive from coast to coastFri, 27 Jun 2025 20:24:13 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/ai-authenticity-and-peter/https://peterbanks.org/essays/ai-authenticity-and-peter/On the uses and abuses of AIThu, 26 Jun 2025 15:17:33 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/this-is-not-our-war/https://peterbanks.org/essays/this-is-not-our-war/Israel strikes IranFri, 13 Jun 2025 05:49:36 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/thoughts-on-ai-2027/https://peterbanks.org/essays/thoughts-on-ai-2027/"May you live in interesting times"Sat, 07 Jun 2025 01:42:15 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-pleasure-and-profit-of-error/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-pleasure-and-profit-of-error/Cunningham comes home to roost.Thu, 05 Jun 2025 17:01:58 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/reflections-on-politics-in-the-uk/https://peterbanks.org/essays/reflections-on-politics-in-the-uk/Political realignment arrives in BritainWed, 04 Jun 2025 22:20:14 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/after-trump-whats-next/https://peterbanks.org/essays/after-trump-whats-next/Après MAGA, le délugeFri, 30 May 2025 16:46:43 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-office-character-tier-listf-b/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-office-character-tier-listf-b/Wherein I rank the major and minor cast of my favorite showWed, 28 May 2025 20:21:45 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-office-a-love-letter/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-office-a-love-letter/Reviewing my all-time favorite show.Sun, 25 May 2025 03:57:45 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/changing-things-up/https://peterbanks.org/essays/changing-things-up/A new horizon for content by Peter BanksWed, 21 May 2025 00:53:04 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/outsourcing-state-capacity-to-skinheads/https://peterbanks.org/essays/outsourcing-state-capacity-to-skinheads/or another name for California prison governanceFri, 02 May 2025 03:56:38 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/what-if-immigration-drives-people/https://peterbanks.org/essays/what-if-immigration-drives-people/A Strong Idea Held Lightly.Sat, 26 Apr 2025 20:04:49 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/oblivion-remastered-review/https://peterbanks.org/essays/oblivion-remastered-review/It's awesome go buy it.Sat, 26 Apr 2025 03:00:32 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/ship-of-theseus-roman-empire/https://peterbanks.org/essays/ship-of-theseus-roman-empire/To me, the Byzantines were as Roman as I am Anglo-Saxon.Thu, 17 Apr 2025 02:23:08 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-true-history-of-the-conquest/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-true-history-of-the-conquest/The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo. Translated by John Ingram LockhartTue, 15 Apr 2025 21:50:51 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/history-the-confluence-of-two-eternities/https://peterbanks.org/essays/history-the-confluence-of-two-eternities/Destiny, dim-brooding over it, lies illegible, inevitable, only knowable to the Eye far removed.Thu, 10 Apr 2025 17:20:45 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/onwards-and-upwards/https://peterbanks.org/essays/onwards-and-upwards/What I want out of the StateSun, 06 Apr 2025 02:38:01 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/trump-s2e2-dark-woke/https://peterbanks.org/essays/trump-s2e2-dark-woke/Episode 2 of the Trump show has aired and it is a real step down in quality from the season premier. Alas. I hope they can break the tired formula but I fear they won’t.Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:27:07 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-king-thomas-carlyle-anthologies/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-king-thomas-carlyle-anthologies/Cromwell, Napoleon: Modern RevolutionismSat, 29 Mar 2025 22:56:39 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-writer-thomas-carlyle/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-writer-thomas-carlyle/Johnson, Rousseau, BurnsSat, 29 Mar 2025 22:54:03 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-priest-thomas-carlyle/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-priest-thomas-carlyle/Luther; Reformation: Knox; PuritanismSat, 29 Mar 2025 22:52:06 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-poet-thomas-carlyle-anthologies/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-poet-thomas-carlyle-anthologies/Dante: Shakespeare.Sat, 29 Mar 2025 22:47:32 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-prophet-thomas-carlyle/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-prophet-thomas-carlyle/Muhammad: IslamSat, 29 Mar 2025 22:41:52 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-divinity-thomas-carlyle/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-hero-as-divinity-thomas-carlyle/Odin, Paganism: Scandinavian MythologySat, 29 Mar 2025 22:37:59 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/strange-symmetry/https://peterbanks.org/essays/strange-symmetry/Do not miss the ouroboros for its teeth.Sat, 29 Mar 2025 19:02:08 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/benthamite-tables-of-arithmetic/https://peterbanks.org/essays/benthamite-tables-of-arithmetic/my incomplete contribution to the shrimp debateFri, 21 Mar 2025 00:59:00 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/no-secret-tao/https://peterbanks.org/essays/no-secret-tao/PoetryFri, 14 Mar 2025 22:18:38 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/trump-s2e1-the-return-of-the-sith/https://peterbanks.org/essays/trump-s2e1-the-return-of-the-sith/"When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and God will not answer you in that day."– 1 Samuel 8:18Fri, 07 Mar 2025 02:42:42 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/why-i-love-thomas-carlyle/https://peterbanks.org/essays/why-i-love-thomas-carlyle/Carlyle was a flawed man, and I never expect him to develop a broad modern audience. But, I will continue to call myself a Reformist Carlylian because so much of what he wrote was true.Sat, 01 Mar 2025 02:06:48 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-18th-century-a-tale-of-rot-and/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-18th-century-a-tale-of-rot-and/Voltaire is the banyan tree of our culture—the single origin from which the entire forest of our thought grows.Sat, 22 Feb 2025 02:10:54 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/catch-dei-chapter-1/https://peterbanks.org/essays/catch-dei-chapter-1/My first attempt at literature.Sat, 15 Feb 2025 01:48:10 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/a-yarvin-sized-fork-in-the-road/https://peterbanks.org/essays/a-yarvin-sized-fork-in-the-road/Curtis Yarvin currently wields huge influence over the President of the United States and his revolutionary administration. The Blob can no longer afford to remain blissfully ignorant of his existenceFri, 07 Feb 2025 22:49:55 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/wtf-is-going-on-with-the-markets/https://peterbanks.org/essays/wtf-is-going-on-with-the-markets/Your dashboard should be lighting up right now like a Christmas treeWed, 29 Jan 2025 22:31:35 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-king-is-dead-long-live-the-king/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-king-is-dead-long-live-the-king/For the first time in 80 years, America appears to have a King. Only the Creator knows what comes next, but things are changing for the first time in my life.Sat, 25 Jan 2025 00:08:11 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/atlas-shrugged-review-musings-on/https://peterbanks.org/essays/atlas-shrugged-review-musings-on/If you haven’t read Atlas Shrugged, I strongly recommend you read it. Treat it like any perspective: incomplete, flawed, and beautiful. Come in with a truly open mind and don’t try to pick fights.Sat, 18 Jan 2025 01:22:53 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/the-ballot-box-empire/https://peterbanks.org/essays/the-ballot-box-empire/More of the Americas should enjoy our culture and institutions. Instead of endless immigration, we can do this by formally expanding the American empire through the ballot box.Sat, 11 Jan 2025 00:44:55 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/one-card-to-borrow-them-all/https://peterbanks.org/essays/one-card-to-borrow-them-all/We can establish a federal library to provide every citizen with "free" access to the flowering of human literature. This should be the first step in more actively subsidizing online education.Fri, 03 Jan 2025 14:03:18 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/life-as-a-distribution-of-types-e7e/https://peterbanks.org/essays/life-as-a-distribution-of-types-e7e/What if we are all just a distribution of types?Wed, 01 Jan 2025 07:38:07 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/welcome-and-housekeeping/https://peterbanks.org/essays/welcome-and-housekeeping/Tue, 31 Dec 2024 21:29:29 GMThttps://peterbanks.org/essays/coming-soon/https://peterbanks.org/essays/coming-soon/Tue, 04 Jun 2024 21:24:05 GMT