Ideas

Sci-Fi’s Lessons in Neutrality

By Suspending Reality, We Can Better See What Is Possible

Can we, and should we, ever really be neutral? In a new series, Zócalo explores the idea of neutrality—in politics, sports, gender, journalism, international law, and more. In this essay, philosopher Matías Graffigna explains how science fiction and fantasy can help us contemplate a wider range of possibilities.

“I just wanted to be honest. I don’t want to get mixed up in this conflict. I want to remain neutral,” Geralt of Rivia tells his good friend Yarpen, a dwarf. “It’s impossible!” yells Yarpen in response. …

by Matías Graffigna |

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More In: Ideas

What Will Deep-Sea Mining Do to Norway’s
Oceans?

Commercial Fishing Has Threatened Life in the Shallower Seas. Harvesting Seafloor Minerals Could Be Even Worse

by Elyse Hauser |

In what’s now Norway, the country with the world’s second-longest coastline, Neolithic fisher-farmers once harpooned enormous bluefin tuna. As centuries passed, Norwegians refined the arduous fishing process, becoming nimble conquerors …

It’s the Best and Worst of Times in Oakland

As Presidential Hopeful Kamala Harris Reaches New Heights, Her Hometown Is Filled With Despair

by Joe Mathews |

If Dickens were to rise from the grave tomorrow, I bet he’d head straight to the East Bay.

Because we are watching a tale of two Oaklands.

One Oakland is advancing on …

The Borders Between My Mexican and American Identities

I Went Searching for Documents to Validate My Binationalism. I Found Something More Complicated

by Alejandra Ibarra Chaoul |

This essay publishes alongside this week’s Zócalo and Universidad de Guadalajara event, “Are the U.S. and Mexico Becoming One Country?” Register here to join …

Joseph Gatto standing to the left of Mike Gatto, both wearing black tuxedos. They smile toward the same direction to the left.

What Came After My Father’s Murder

A Decade Later, a Former State Legislator Is Still Wrangling With Police and the Criminal Justice System

by Mike Gatto |

It was the first and only murder in Silver Lake that year.

I picked up the phone at our house in Sacramento, where I was serving my third year in the …

Democracy Advocates Should Stop Fighting About Democracy

Forget Deliberative vs. Direct vs. Electoral. We’re All on the Same Team

by Joe Mathews |

If democracy is going to flourish on this planet, its practitioners must come to see themselves as members of the same team.

Unfortunately, global democracy is a field divided. And not …


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