Barry Brownstein
Contributor
Barry Brownstein is professor emeritus of economics and leadership at the University of Baltimore.
He is the author of The Inner-Work of Leadership, and his essays have appeared in publications such as the Foundation for Economic Education and Intellectual Takeout.
To receive Barry’s essays in your inbox, visit mindsetshifts.com
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Liberalism Needs No Enemies
“Minds can be creative or destructive. Be right-minded. Stop justifying grievances. Embrace liberalism. Value voluntary cooperation; as you help others flourish, you will flourish.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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The Thin Line Between Tribalism and Human Flourishing
“Current politicians, educators, and others encourage Americans to adopt tribal identities. It ended badly in Cyprus. The outcome of tribalist mindsets dividing Americans may differ only in degree.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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Obstacles to Freedom Can Be the Way to Freedom
“If we set our purpose to learn from obstacles, today, there is no better opportunity to choose freedom over violence. Thankfully, Read, Aurelius, and Emerson point the way; the more significant the obstacles, the greater the potential change.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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How Individuals Enable Tyranny
“Mill, Havel, and Kundera all point us to a terrible truth: our moral weakness, desire to evade responsibility, and illusion that the majority makes right have led us down the slippery slope of forfeiting our freedom.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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Adam Smith on Humanity’s Greatest Weakness
“Worse than simply refusing to see our self-deceit, we feel morally justified in transgressing against others. Smith was right, self-deceit is responsible for much of the suffering of humanity.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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Those Who Don’t Forgive, Don’t Learn
“Forgiveness is a mindset, a way of being in the world, and not a specific behavior. It doesn’t mean we stay with an abusive spouse or excuse the actions of an authoritarian politician or petty bureaucrat.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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When Lying Becomes a Virtue, Civilization Declines
“Just as in China, the moral character of Americans is being degraded. As more and more of us remain silent, morality degrades, and the social order on which we all depend loses its capacity to facilitate human flourishing.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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The Stockdale Paradox and the Future of Liberty
“The Stockdale Paradox reminds us that when faith falters, turning to false optimism is not the path forward. Such optimism, wrote Frankl in Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything, ‘lull[s] us into complacency and… a rosy fatalism.’” ~ Barry Brownstein
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When the Family Is Abolished, People Starve
“Like the Chinese communists, Lewis sees no need for every family to cook, wash clothes, and raise children. For the Chinese, instead of paradise, the outcome was the worst man-made famine in history.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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To Defend Liberty, Cultivate Your Inner Freedom
“Most will never appreciate liberty until it is lost. Do we value liberty? Are we willing to examine and shed faulty habits of mind? Until we do, as Montaigne put it, ‘No wind makes for him who has no destined port.'” ~ Barry Brownstein
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•
Liberalism Needs No Enemies
“Minds can be creative or destructive. Be right-minded. Stop justifying grievances. Embrace liberalism. Value voluntary cooperation; as you help others flourish, you will flourish.” ~ Barry Brownstein
-
•
The Thin Line Between Tribalism and Human Flourishing
“Current politicians, educators, and others encourage Americans to adopt tribal identities. It ended badly in Cyprus. The outcome of tribalist mindsets dividing Americans may differ only in degree.” ~ Barry Brownstein
-
•
Obstacles to Freedom Can Be the Way to Freedom
“If we set our purpose to learn from obstacles, today, there is no better opportunity to choose freedom over violence. Thankfully, Read, Aurelius, and Emerson point the way; the more significant the obstacles, the greater the potential change.” ~ Barry Brownstein
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•
How Individuals Enable Tyranny
“Mill, Havel, and Kundera all point us to a terrible truth: our moral weakness, desire to evade responsibility, and illusion that the majority makes right have led us down the slippery slope of forfeiting our freedom.” ~ Barry Brownstein
-
•
Adam Smith on Humanity’s Greatest Weakness
“Worse than simply refusing to see our self-deceit, we feel morally justified in transgressing against others. Smith was right, self-deceit is responsible for much of the suffering of humanity.” ~ Barry Brownstein
-
•
Those Who Don’t Forgive, Don’t Learn
“Forgiveness is a mindset, a way of being in the world, and not a specific behavior. It doesn’t mean we stay with an abusive spouse or excuse the actions of an authoritarian politician or petty bureaucrat.” ~ Barry Brownstein
-
•
When Lying Becomes a Virtue, Civilization Declines
“Just as in China, the moral character of Americans is being degraded. As more and more of us remain silent, morality degrades, and the social order on which we all depend loses its capacity to facilitate human flourishing.” ~ Barry Brownstein
-
•
The Stockdale Paradox and the Future of Liberty
“The Stockdale Paradox reminds us that when faith falters, turning to false optimism is not the path forward. Such optimism, wrote Frankl in Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything, ‘lull[s] us into complacency and… a rosy fatalism.’” ~ Barry Brownstein
-
•
When the Family Is Abolished, People Starve
“Like the Chinese communists, Lewis sees no need for every family to cook, wash clothes, and raise children. For the Chinese, instead of paradise, the outcome was the worst man-made famine in history.” ~ Barry Brownstein
-
•
To Defend Liberty, Cultivate Your Inner Freedom
“Most will never appreciate liberty until it is lost. Do we value liberty? Are we willing to examine and shed faulty habits of mind? Until we do, as Montaigne put it, ‘No wind makes for him who has no destined port.'” ~ Barry Brownstein