Anyone who thinks Stoicism is about detachment hasn’t read “Meditations” with their soul switched on. He wasn’t preaching serenity from a sunlit porch in Athens, he was wading through plague, betrayal, and the administrative equivalent of a Hydra. And still, he chose clarity over chaos, ethics over ego.
What I find most moving isn’t the wisdom which is obvious, but the fact that he wrote it all down for himself. No performance, no audience, just the raw, unfiltered attempt of a man trying to stay decent while holding the world together with one hand and his sanity with the other.
His words are a manual for inner sovereignty, not emotional anesthesia. And let’s be honest, the quote “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” should be tattooed on every thinkpiece pundit and moral performance artist with a WiFi signal.
The older I get, the more I find myself returning to Marcus Aurelius for reminders, not for answers. The kind that slap and soothe you in the same breath.
Indeed. Prominent Romans, Greeks & others from antiquity are too often romanticised, & end up as gold-embossed leather bound books on a shelf or coffee table, admired for their aesthetics, but rarely read. I confess I’m guilty of that a little too much. My life is the worse for my laziness. And with ‘listening books’, time poverty is an inadequate excuse.
I find that a major motivator to read deeply in this modern world, is to realize that the wisdom of which we wantonly starve ourselves by not reading (or listening), affects us in ways we cannot know. The precepts of Marcus Aurelius, if embraced to the point of not merely understanding, but action, might help treated depression & substance abuse surprisingly more than we’d expect. And transform western politics. It’s worth trying.
Great summary of some of the most important points from a complex work. Also, FYI, there is a great book about Marcus Aurelius for kids called 'Marcus and Me'...would love to know about other stoicism books for kids for my daughter.
Marcus Aurelius, writing at a time of unrest. And yet he managed to extract such wonderful thoughts and advices. If only the upper-crust people followed them ...
The concept of meritocracy is extremely old (Confucius was its main historical proponent) only the word itself is relatively new. It was first used in the book “The Rise of the Meritocracy”, published in 1958, and authored by Michael Dunlop Young, a British sociologist and politician. The book totally failed in its original intent, which was to denigrate meritocracy. It actually had the opposite effect.
From the chief of the tribe to the political and religious leaders, to the CEOs of corporations, meritocracy has been constantly used, at least in theory. The problem is that in many cases, and in the long run, it derails due to nepotism and corruption.
Obviously, if you have surgery, you want the best surgeon. If you sail, you want the best captain. If you fly, you want the best pilot. If you marry, you want the best spouse. And, if you reside in a nation, you are entitled to demand the best possible Public Administration.
Quality in political leadership can only be attained via a political system that gives free rein to merit and makes it official. In any nation, an efficient political system must be based and rely on the proven merit of its citizens, elected by other citizens of proven merit. It must be a meritocratic democracy or meritocracy.
Merit is the quality of those who have higher personal capabilities, hence, are more capable to benefit and improve the wellbeing of all, through their own individual efforts, deeds and accomplishments.
Those who reject and denigrate meritocracy were born slaves or have been indoctrinated by a slave mentally. They tend to be incompetent, lazy, envious parasites, who prefer communism’s equal poverty for all (except for the party members, their families, friends and partners)
Meritocracy utterly destroys and bans all kinds of classicisms and racisms, for it focuses solely on individual merit, neglecting all other factors.
Meritocracy is the only fair system, for as long as humans are completely different from one another, in all aspects, there will never be equal opportunities in real life, except in the official and fictional propaganda narrative.
The fact is that opportunities do not come solely from the State's equal rights, but from multiple other factors, like personal attributes, family, education, economic status, ambition, etc. Furthermore, why should everybody have equal opportunities, if everybody is totally different. Aristotle rightly said, 2.500 years ago: to treat different things equally is the greatest injustice of all.
Of course, nor the State nor the citizens should abandon or let die lazy people, mentally or physically handicapped people, evil people, criminals, etc. But, these do not deserve the opportunities and rewards of intelligent, hard working, honest citizens.
AFW is a MDD - Meritocratic Direct Democracy, and the epitome of meritocracy.
Nations are poor & miserable, not for lack of human or natural resources, but for lack of merit of their leaders.
Fascinating read! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
Anyone who thinks Stoicism is about detachment hasn’t read “Meditations” with their soul switched on. He wasn’t preaching serenity from a sunlit porch in Athens, he was wading through plague, betrayal, and the administrative equivalent of a Hydra. And still, he chose clarity over chaos, ethics over ego.
What I find most moving isn’t the wisdom which is obvious, but the fact that he wrote it all down for himself. No performance, no audience, just the raw, unfiltered attempt of a man trying to stay decent while holding the world together with one hand and his sanity with the other.
His words are a manual for inner sovereignty, not emotional anesthesia. And let’s be honest, the quote “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” should be tattooed on every thinkpiece pundit and moral performance artist with a WiFi signal.
The older I get, the more I find myself returning to Marcus Aurelius for reminders, not for answers. The kind that slap and soothe you in the same breath.
Indeed. Prominent Romans, Greeks & others from antiquity are too often romanticised, & end up as gold-embossed leather bound books on a shelf or coffee table, admired for their aesthetics, but rarely read. I confess I’m guilty of that a little too much. My life is the worse for my laziness. And with ‘listening books’, time poverty is an inadequate excuse.
I find that a major motivator to read deeply in this modern world, is to realize that the wisdom of which we wantonly starve ourselves by not reading (or listening), affects us in ways we cannot know. The precepts of Marcus Aurelius, if embraced to the point of not merely understanding, but action, might help treated depression & substance abuse surprisingly more than we’d expect. And transform western politics. It’s worth trying.
This is an amazing article, extremely insightful.
Agreed
Great summary of some of the most important points from a complex work. Also, FYI, there is a great book about Marcus Aurelius for kids called 'Marcus and Me'...would love to know about other stoicism books for kids for my daughter.
Excellent article! Good items to remember as we go through life.
Far more difficult than reading it written 🙏
Marcus Aurelius, writing at a time of unrest. And yet he managed to extract such wonderful thoughts and advices. If only the upper-crust people followed them ...
Stoicism is at the heart of MERITOCRACY.
The concept of meritocracy is extremely old (Confucius was its main historical proponent) only the word itself is relatively new. It was first used in the book “The Rise of the Meritocracy”, published in 1958, and authored by Michael Dunlop Young, a British sociologist and politician. The book totally failed in its original intent, which was to denigrate meritocracy. It actually had the opposite effect.
From the chief of the tribe to the political and religious leaders, to the CEOs of corporations, meritocracy has been constantly used, at least in theory. The problem is that in many cases, and in the long run, it derails due to nepotism and corruption.
Obviously, if you have surgery, you want the best surgeon. If you sail, you want the best captain. If you fly, you want the best pilot. If you marry, you want the best spouse. And, if you reside in a nation, you are entitled to demand the best possible Public Administration.
Quality in political leadership can only be attained via a political system that gives free rein to merit and makes it official. In any nation, an efficient political system must be based and rely on the proven merit of its citizens, elected by other citizens of proven merit. It must be a meritocratic democracy or meritocracy.
Merit is the quality of those who have higher personal capabilities, hence, are more capable to benefit and improve the wellbeing of all, through their own individual efforts, deeds and accomplishments.
Those who reject and denigrate meritocracy were born slaves or have been indoctrinated by a slave mentally. They tend to be incompetent, lazy, envious parasites, who prefer communism’s equal poverty for all (except for the party members, their families, friends and partners)
Meritocracy utterly destroys and bans all kinds of classicisms and racisms, for it focuses solely on individual merit, neglecting all other factors.
Meritocracy is the only fair system, for as long as humans are completely different from one another, in all aspects, there will never be equal opportunities in real life, except in the official and fictional propaganda narrative.
The fact is that opportunities do not come solely from the State's equal rights, but from multiple other factors, like personal attributes, family, education, economic status, ambition, etc. Furthermore, why should everybody have equal opportunities, if everybody is totally different. Aristotle rightly said, 2.500 years ago: to treat different things equally is the greatest injustice of all.
Of course, nor the State nor the citizens should abandon or let die lazy people, mentally or physically handicapped people, evil people, criminals, etc. But, these do not deserve the opportunities and rewards of intelligent, hard working, honest citizens.
AFW is a MDD - Meritocratic Direct Democracy, and the epitome of meritocracy.
Nations are poor & miserable, not for lack of human or natural resources, but for lack of merit of their leaders.
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is not neutrality, but is in fact a form of participation"....nothing could be more relevant in today's world.
Great article
Very wise! Love it :)
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Fascinating read! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
Great...
A superb quinquevirate to guide our lives in the modern world.