Checks&Balances

Igniting the beam of hope

Guest Contributor — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 21:05:15 +0000

Take the perfect action in the imperfect moment.

Written by: Eissina Diallo & idil Erkan in collaboration with AISG Editorial

The world can feel scary. Every day, as we check the news, new pieces of information confront us with harsh realities. Natural disasters, wars, and poverty. Snow is accumulating on the top of the mountain. As time passes, we wonder how long it will hold up before we all get swept up by the avalanche. However, the question that comes to my mind at least once a day and probably tortures most of us is: in this chaotic world, what can we do? What can we, as human beings who have lived an average of 21 years on Earth, do against worldwide issues that not only exceed our capabilities but are also older than anything we can imagine?

My answer is to be hopeful. I do agree that it can sound quite performative, so I will phrase it differently; avoid at all costs to remain hopeless. Indeed, certain situations we witness can trigger us to feel helpless, as though there is nothing we can do to obtain change. For example, when reading the news, finding out about people displaced due to a natural disaster. Because of the broader circumstances and challenges surrounding such catastrophes, it often feels like we, in our position as watchers, are helpless to the people enduring all of these hardships, but that is not true. As human beings in our twenties living in western societies, with secure access to food, water, electricity and safe places to live, how can we claim to be helpless? We actually can do so much. Living in democracies where we enjoy the freedom of speech and protest, we all individually have the power to publicly voice our disagreements or write to our policy-makers. While many worldwide issues seem to surpass us, it is important to understand the weight our individual actions can have, and this starts with being positive.

This can, once again, sound artificial. Trying to perceive the ‘good’ in situations where there are casualties appears out of touch, but remaining negative is far more hazardous. Negativity leads to inaction. Inaction means giving up. Giving up is dangerous. By solely focusing on the distressing aspects surrounding us, we tend to be passive as we believe that nothing can be done, at least not by us. Take climate change. As one tries to learn more about it, by reading articles about wildfires or floods, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the scale of destruction. It can lead one to question each of their actions regarding recycling, voting choices and even wonder why bringing it up since the phenomenon exceeds them. Such passivity becomes a vicious cycle as the status quo remains, proving that nothing can be done. Such a mindset, over time, can lead us to get used to things that we should not be getting used to, namely seeing people getting bombed, lacking secure access to clean water, or dying of starvation. Instead, our energy should be directed at what is being done, as small as these actions can be, and how, at our scale, we can contribute positively. What is already done? By whom and how? How can I help? How to spread awareness? In the dark, the glow of a match is still a source of light.

It’s essential to recognize and take steps to embody genuine positivity and hope. Although we are surrounded by constantly evolving world events, and for instance, immigration, it has played a significant role for a long time and is utilised as an advantageous tool in political propaganda. Additionally, it drives most of the national population to have more antagonistic opinions against the asylum seekers who seek the safety and shelter that they do not have due to horrendous actions taking place on their soil.

Looking at the bright side of events will stimulate the sense of empathy towards others. Furthermore, the immigration movement has transformed the way we interact and live on a day-to-day basis. Not only talking about the economic side and the skills they bring to countries, but the innovations, creativity, art, traditions, cuisines and cross-cultural activities they bring along with themselves and their labour, is the first step to emotionally settle oneself to appreciate immigrants. Once you initiate the first step, hope and our insights to seek the “good” will even grow something bigger, such as signing petitions, finding oneself in fundraisers and charity events. They will ignite the first sparks to take a collective action for “doing” something for the hopelessness and negativity in our world.

We do not have to seek the perfect time, the perfect place, and standards to take action for worldwide issues; the majority of our needs are hope and commitment to our steps until seeing the outcome of our actions, and of course, achieving the outcomes all depends on us.

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence

The post Igniting the beam of hope first appeared on Checks&Balances.

Beyond the end of history

Loek Quirijn Rikhof — Mon, 25 May 2026 10:19:15 +0000

Promises of utopia in modern times

It is not strange for humans to imagine a point in history where everything is as good as they can imagine it to be. An utopia, an ideal moment in time where there is nothing left to solve. This natural final point is commonly found in major contemporary belief systems, such as Judgment Day in both Christianity and Islam, and Nirvana in Buddhism. The utopia of these religions is a spiritual one, as it takes place after death and involves the salvation of man’s spirit. In a way, this belief then manifested itself again in secular modern history, remodelled under a new name: ‘The End of History’. Both liberalism and socialism, the biggest ideologies of our time, produced their own version of this idea, basically stating that their model of government would lead humanity to their final, perfect form. A paradise that wouldn’t be a state of bliss in the afterlife but could be created here on earth. What is to think of these ideas today?

The original idea of the End of History would develop into nothing more than a cornerstone of socialist thought all around the world, notably the state ideology of the Soviet Union. Karl Marx looked at world history and saw a constant struggle of societal classes, of working people against those in power. Every time, one of the lower classes would gain the material power to overthrow the class above them and become the new societal ruler. This would happen until eventually the working class divided the power among themselves, leading to a classless society where everyone would be equal: communism. For Marx this was the natural and logical way history was supposed to play out, but that didn’t mean he sat around waiting until it would happen. In writing and in action, he was very much an activist. Decades later, during the Cold War, assisting countries in their development to communism would remain an important excuse of the Soviet Union to legitimise proxy wars in foreign countries.

The Cold War, however, did not end favourably for world communism. The Iron Curtain fell, the Soviet Union scattered and the United States had come out on top in a decades-long rivalry for world supremacy. It was in this context that political scientist Francis Fukuyama prophesied his own End of History. His argument was in many ways the same as Marx’s, except he argued that not communism, but liberal democracy would turn out to be humanity’s final form of government. Other forms of government might still exist for a long time, but eventually every living person on earth would have to face the apparent wealth and freedom liberalism provides. Fukuyama’s theory would, however, lose credibility almost embarrassingly quickly compared to the longevity of Marx’s ideas. The first cracks started to show with the Twin Towers attacks in 2001 and the following invasion of Iraq, putting strains on the presumed world-dominance of the US. Today, the theory seems to be especially dire. China, with its state-controlled hybrid capitalism, is a direct challenge to the supposed superiority of liberal democracy. It has also failed to effectively combat the excesses of climate change or the rise of inequality across the globe. If liberalism is truly our Eden, one could wonder if it’s actually one we’d like to live in.

In a 2024 article, Fukuyama did bring up the fair point that there is not yet a clear alternative to liberalism. However, that does not necessarily prove him right. Rather, it feels like modern politics are dominated by the ghosts of political ideologies from centuries past, which have already disappointed in their biggest promises. Perhaps we can try to find something new, a worldview that can actually tackle the problems of our time. But maybe it is even better to accept that utopia is something all too easily promised, but hardly ever delivered.

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence

Where has the silliness gone?

Ilse Westeneng — Mon, 18 May 2026 07:51:28 +0000

Why the witty, unserious lyrics have disappeared from today’s mainstream music

Last week, I was listening to one of the old CDs from my dad, and I picked up a Top 40 CD of 1992. Though I am usually not a big fan of hitlists, this Top 40 surprised me. It turned out to be the perfect mix of rock, dance, reggae and silly music. While all of these genres are still around, the silly songs had their haydays in the 90s and early 00s, after which their popularity sharply declined. I’m wondering why?

When looking at the Top 40 charts it is noticeable that almost all songs are about serious subjects. With Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Alex Warren and Olivia Dean ruling the top of the chart, all the lyrics contain either love confessions or break up stories. In a Top 40 chart of more than two decades ago, such as the chart of July 1999, we can find similar pop artists singing about love. However, what stands out is the witty, unserious song Mambo no.5, beating Jennifer Lopez, Whitney Houston and Britney Spears with its spot on number one. Next to Lou Bega’s Mambo No.5, also Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65 sat on the top of the charts for several weeks in 1999. Similarly, other silly songs like We’re going to Ibiza by the Vengaboys and Cartoon’s Witch Doctor were popular at the end of the 90s. When comparing the Top 40 of 1999 with today’s charts, this genre of unserious, gimmicky hits seems to have disappeared from the mainstream music of nowadays. While the genre of Jennifer Lopez and Whitney Houston lives on in pop-artists like Taylor Swift and Olivia Dean, the Mambos and Blues of now appear to be non-existent.

Back in the 90s, songs like Mambo No. 5 served as crowd pleasers on dance or kitchen floors, and the thoughtless lyrics made them the perfect songs for karaoke. Mambo No. 5, Lou Bega’s one and only hit, describes his sexual history with a silly undertone, accompanied by an energetic brass section. The combination of the iconic trumpet hook written by Perez Prado in 1949, and the repetitive formula of ‘A little bit of..’ combined with the list of women’s names turns the whole into an unserious, silly song. In an interview Bega talks about the mindset of the audience being relevant for the way songs from this ‘funny’ genre are received. When releasing his second album, he noticed that the market for fun songs had altered in the aftermath of 9/11. The impact of the terrorist attacks had changed the mentality of the listeners, or as Lou Bega explains: “nobody wanted fun songs for a long time,”. This did not stop the artist from making more songs, even though his work after Mambo couldn’t match its mainstream success.

The disappearance of silly songs with unserious lyrics from the Top 40 charts could have several reasons. As Lou Bega already described, societal developments influence whether fun songs are seen as appropriate or not. While 9/11 could be held accountable for the decline in silly songs’ popularity right after the event, its impact has to have faded away after two decades. Social media could also be a factor in silly songs not going mainstream anymore. Whereas two decades ago, music might have served as both a form of art and entertainment, today Instagram Shorts and TikToks have taken over the role of entertainment. This could explain why people tend to listen to more serious songs, since they have consumed their daily dose of entertainment on social media already. Additionally, many nostalgic music experts on YouTube impute the lack of diversity in today’s hit charts to the music industry. As Rick Beato explains, hits like Sabrina Carpenter’s Manchild are written by the same songwriters as Taylor Swift’s, Harry Style’s and Halsey’s songs. This creates a certain kind of trademark within mainstream music, making it harder for deviating songs to climb the charts.

In the end, while silly songs are not the number one of the Top 40 anymore, that does not mean all new music has lost its humour. Since streaming platforms have made listening to music more individualistic, charts have become less representative of our diverse music streams. Therefore, silly music is not dead, it has just become a more underground genre. And of course, there are still exceptions that do make it to the charts, such as I Miss Us by Songfestival participants Joost Klein, Käärijä and Tommy Cash. The new song parodies boybands from the 90s and 2000s, and its video clip mocking the over-choreographed style of that era fits perfectly well in the genre of silly songs. So who knows, will I Miss Us be the beginning of a return of unserious songs to the charts?

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence

Further reading

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Perished Flowers and Expired Chocolates

Line Bodil Bijleveld — Mon, 11 May 2026 11:18:08 +0000

The commercialisation of Mother’s Day

For the past two weeks, almost every advertisement I have heard has been about Mother’s Day gifts; when I listened to the radio, watched television and even while I was watching YouTube. As kids we used to make little gifts for this day, like a drawing or a wish card. However, as we grew up we have been encouraged by all those advertisements to buy gifts instead of making them ourselves. This becomes clear when looking at the United States, where people spend an average of 180 dollars per person for Mother’s Day. In total this makes billions of dollars spent on Mother’s Day gifts per year in the United States. People buy expensive or less expensive things to show their mother how much they love them.

Mother’s Day has multiple origins, in the roman empire there was already a day dedicated to mothers or wives. However, Mother’s Day as we know it today stems from the early 20^th century. When Anna Jarvis her mother died in 1905 she thought of the idea to create a day to put mothers in a benevolent light. A day to honour the women who gave birth to us, who put life on the earth. Over the years Jarvis’ Mother’s Day changed into Mother’s Day as we know it now. How did the small genuine gestures evolve into another commercialised holiday, where it seems that the only way of appreciating our mom is by presenting her a gift? This amazing perfume she desperately needs, the personalised teacups and shirts, the flowers that cannot be missed and, of course, the tons of chocolate that are produced especially for this day.

Perfume runs out, who would actually wear a personalised shirt outside of the house, flowers will perish and the tons of chocolate will either be eaten or thrown away because they are expired. Gifts like these are not sustainable, they represent more a temporary than a lasting love. Moreover, items to be sold are subject to contemporary trends. Whereas one year stationary might be the thing you should give, the next year cute cups with hearts on it will be the perfect present. This means that all the products of the year before are no longer suitable for selling and can be thrown away, while an enormous number of new products are produced to just sell for one day. Naturally this is not only the case for Mother’s Day, for other days like Valentine’s Day and Halloween this can also be seen. Just spending time with and paying attention to your partner is not enough, because if you do not buy a gift it is considered inconsiderate. Similarly, celebrating Halloween without ornaments would not be a proper Halloween.

Whereas holidays used to be more about honouring or appreciating people, over the years the attention has shifted towards spending money on the people you care about. This is what capitalism has done to us. Ever since the industrialisation, society cares deeply about earning and spending money. Moreover, society has become more materialistic, which contributes to the commercialisation of holidays. Instead of having more spare time to spend on activities, hobbies or people that matter to them, people prefer working more hours to earn money that they can spend on non-essentials; the things we do not need in life. By buying a higher amount of non-essentials or more expensive ones, people can compare themselves with others and perceive themselves as superior. For the act of gifting, this translates into the feeling that the more expensive a present is, the more the recipient is loved. In the current world, the amount of money that is spent on a gift carries more value than the amount of thought and effort put into it.

However, what do you mean we need to spend money on physical things to declare our love? How about a handwritten note, a handmade gift, or just simply your time, because after all, are these not more genuine gifts into which you actually put some effort and care? The capitalistic spin-off that Mother’s Day has become should transform back into the Mother’s Day that Anna Jarvis intended it to be. Let us not honour our mothers with money, but with actual appreciation.

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Generative AI: the digital skinwalker

Tishya Tiwary — Mon, 04 May 2026 11:07:56 +0000

Harlan Ellison’s AM, Frank Herbert’s outlawed thinking machines and even Will smith’s I, Robot “adaptation” after almost a century of people pontificating over the concept of AI and the world it will inhabit, the future is finally here. AI has been used since the 1950s with the first machine learning program being developed by Arthur Samuel in 1952. It was only recently, in 2014, when GANs algorithms were developed and began colloquially known as generative AI, with the widespread use of generative AI truly beginning in 2022 with the introduction of apps like ChatGPT and Midjourney.

Generative AI is distinct from traditional AI as it has the ability to create something totally new from the data it has been fed, whereas traditional AI is limited by the data it’s been provided. In simpler terms, traditional AI can help you decide which ice cream you want from all the existing ice cream flavors available, while generative AI can create a totally new flavor best suited for your preference. So even though AI has been around for more than 7 decades, with the inception of generative AI we have begun to see glimpses of what Philip K. Dicks’ dreaming androids look out of their pages.

A common exploration in fictions about AI was their need to be closer to humanity. Both Naoki Uraswa’s Pluto and David Cage’s Detroit Becomes Human portray AI machines as a minority class, fighting to be recognized as sentient beings who deserve to be treated equally. Yet the current appeal and use of AI makes me doubtful such a want could awaken in the program.

Generative AI comes as sheep offering you an efficient and convenient solution, humanity’s newest mimic that can wear your skin whenever you forgot an essay due tomorrow or can’t afford the time to learn that hobby for a passion project. While the wolf inside eats away at your insecurities, in the guise of convenience. It takes your creations, gathers a reflection and accumulation of you as a person and states it can be better- better artist, better writer, a better human. Could it really grow a desire for aging flesh and forgetting minds when, everyday, it’s fed stories, architecture, articles, design and data to refine, to polish, to cleanse, to advance? Have we not taught it that to be human is to be less? By all means it’s a net to catch all human error, a reassurance when your capabilities fail that the machine is there to fix it for you.

As the use of generative AI becomes normalized in everyday settings, the AI has not yet begun to reach conclusions about its living masters but we must start constructing ours. What will be the effects of this new cohabitation on us? Whilst its physical effects are easy to analyze with it following the standard decree for every other tech miracle of the digital revolution; the increased carbon emissions, e-waste, depleting fresh water resources, increased air pollution. All of which compounds to accelerate climate change. It is the more emotional and cognitive impact on human expression and communication that worries me. 2020s second plague leaving hollow human husks where vibrant ingenuity once shined- alive but morse. It’s the death of personality.

To me, the internet has begun to embody the desolate wastelands of apocalyptic aftermaths. You can find remnants of man made creations but they have been molted and broken, shaped into figures that, while look familiar, feel foreign. The new residents of this dead world might carry glimpses of humanity I remember- similar languages, similar art, similar stories. However something about them has been irreparably changed. These new skinwalkers that don’t just replace but erase.

We are a mosaic of all that we have consumed, our output a highly complex system developed through memories, emotions, people, places and the like. The way we research, the way we construct sentences, the way we analyse data, even the way we split paragraphs are ways we leave traces of ourselves in our work. Using an algorithm to replace these tasks not only makes us lose essential skills like critical thinking, problem solving, time management but also our very identity. So much of human history has been a scream from fleeting dynasties and empires and tribes and people to be seen. When did the human, carving graffiti on every surface to mark their existence across time, grew so docile and complacent that he started to facilitate his own dissolvement.

Let’s think about gods for a minute, less in the matters of faith but rather the concept. It’s hard not to draw parallels between the creation of man and the creation of AI. By all accounts we have created a creature, one that bleeds electricity and lives in mechanical hardware. A new virus to debate its existence as a living being. With every new invention, with every impossible becoming an everyday granted, we build babel anew. In its midst, I fear, it is not us who has been abandoned. Do gods wonder whether their miraculous cures still carry worth when a simple vaccine can perform the same wonders, is their divinity enough justification for it to be something uniquely different, something uniquely important? I can’t help but let these words shadow me as I sit here on my desk re-reading my text, desperately trying to invoke a morsel of passion I feel about this subject within my readers, knowing that there is a tool to make it easier for me. A tool that can perhaps write these phrases better than me, that can make better sense of my thoughts and articulate them better than me, a tool that is just better than me.

There sits the algorithm, capable of processing more thoughts in a minute than I could in a century. Is my humanity enough justification for my words to be something uniquely different, something more important? It is hard to find fault in the machine for outgrowing me when I never found fault in myself for outgrowing God. “God is dead” had weeped Neitzsche, “Human is dead” will state Chat GPT ver 52.6.

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence.

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When the mirror at the barber’s offered interesting insights

Sam Tengbergen — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:25:54 +0000

How consistent are we in our moral beliefs? To some extent, living a perfect moral life in the West requires steps that far exceed regular expectations, such as having a phone or clothes completely exempt of child labour. But what about the consumption of meat? And how do we conduct ourselves accordingly, if at all?

A little over a month ago, I went to the barbershop. Personally, I have never had a regular barber. I just look at what is close, affordable, and convenient. After all, I just want the barber to make it a bit shorter. Having said this, you don’t expect much beyond a routine haircut, and yet, as I sat in the chair, patiently waiting for the barber to finish, hoping she wouldn’t cut my hair too short, something unexpected caught my attention. Across from me, an interesting conversation was taking place.

The man in the chair talked about his work. He taught philosophy and ethics to teenage students. What is right? What is wrong? As he continued, the woman who was cutting his hair – not someone you would immediately expect to engage in elaborate philosophical discussions – got curious: “Can I ask something?” … “But of course!” he responded.

“How do you feel about zoo animals? The fact that we keep them locked up in cages? Isn’t that terrible?”

The man, hesitant to give his own stance – something he refrains from with his students too – let her do most of the talking. As her pleading continued, I could not help but interrupt and ask her a question. “Do you eat meat by any chance?”

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Here’s this guy, not just being nosy but judgmental. Ready to put you in your place from his moral pedestal. While this may seem true on the surface, I want to clarify that my question, too, came from a certain curiosity. If you thought that I was going to give her, or you, a judgmental sales pitch for veganism… you’re only half right. You see, I am not a vegan or vegetarian myself.

Instead, I hope to point out something more subtle and insidious, which is the cognitive dissonance and lack of consistency I have become aware of over the past years when it comes to the veganism debate and its ethical implications.

The barber answered yes and immediately knew where I was getting at. The woman who was doing my hair happened to be a vegan and jokingly said that only she had the right to speak. While this was said jokingly, there was a kernel of truth to it. The reason why I asked the other barber whether she ate meat was not to judge her for doing so, but to put up a mirror for her disdain towards the treatment of zoo animals, while indirectly contributing to the harsh conditions of farm animals.

Now, one could wonder: Is this really hypocrisy? Don’t we need to eat meat? Can’t we still condemn the mistreatment of animals for being wrong, despite not being fully morally consistent ourselves? Of course, life in the current age is nearly impossible to live wholly ethically. Your phone was probably made partly with child labour, and the person who worked on your cotton H&M shirt does not get paid enough.

The issue, to me, however, is not that we do not live up to our most morally correct selves; although one should try to make some effort, but that we are not consistent in our judgment for similar things. While the barber might be one example, a better case would be people online voicing their disdain for bullfighting or the consumption of dogs in other countries. The first might not be done for consumption, but it is still done in the service of people’s pleasures. As a form of entertainment. Once you concede that the taste of meat is also a form of pleasure, it becomes difficult to argue why one is more ethically permissible than the other. For the consumption of dogs, the comparison is even more striking. While we emotionally categorise cows and pigs as “farm animals,” their conscious experience and levels of intelligence are comparable to those of a dog. Thus, this distinction is rather arbitrary.

But Sam, if you have come to this conclusion, shouldn’t you become a vegan? Who are you to ask that woman about her eating habits, and to point out the hypocrisy if you yourself are not consistent? To that, I say that you would be absolutely correct.

While I have my own “reasons” to keep eating meat: the protein and calories it offers, how easy it is to prepare, the price, the flavour, and perhaps just being used to it, they should not justify the contribution to the treatment of the animals themselves. Now, I do believe that in today’s day and age, the consumer is only half to blame when options with animal products are also made to be relatively cheaper (and easier to prepare) than non-animal products. It is easy to go to the supermarket, think about that dead cow for a second, but then resort to the drop-in-the-bucket fallacy (“I’m only one person, how is it going to make a difference?”). Nonetheless, if you do feel strongly about things such as dog meat or bullfighting, I do ask you to be honest with yourself. While I find it hard to quit eating meat, I do make efforts to eat less meat and, when possible, meat that had a “better life”, insofar as that’s even possible.

In the end, this is less about being perfect and more about being consistent. If we are willing to question others, we should at least be willing to question ourselves just as seriously.

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence.

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Should Schools Set Limits on What We Read?

Charlotte d’Harambure — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:12:08 +0000

The books we study at school are rarely just stories. They shape how we understand history, identity, morality, and even ourselves. Due to the significant influence literature has on our education, it is debated whether certain topics should be restricted within schools. Should schools protect students from difficult or disturbing material, or is exposure to such content not only an essential part of education, but also a moral obligation, ensuring that past mistakes are understood and not repeated?

On one hand, young students should not be exposed, without appropriate restrictions or guidance, to the deeply unsettling themes that some books portray. Some books deal with themes that are deeply unsettling, including violence, abuse, racism, or sexual content. Especially for younger readers, these topics can be distressing or difficult to process without sufficient emotional maturity or guidance. Parents and educators often worry that premature exposure may do more harm than good. In this sense, restricting certain works is framed not as censorship, but as a form of care.

A contemporary example often discussed is “Sad Tiger” by Neige Sinno. The book is a powerful autobiographical work that explores childhood sexual abuse. While critically acclaimed for its honesty and literary merit, its subject matter is undeniably intense. Introducing such a text in a classroom raises difficult questions: are students equipped to engage with it responsibly? Can all teachers facilitate such discussions with the necessary sensitivity? These concerns highlight that the issue is not only what is taught, but how it is taught.

Similarly, Arundhati Roy’s “The God of Small Things” is often studied in advanced secondary school or at university. It explores themes such as forbidden love, caste discrimination, and trauma. Its lyrical prose and political depth make it an important literary work, yet some scenes are particularly intense. For instance, the novel portrays the forbidden relationship between Ammu, a woman from a higher caste, and Velutha, an “Untouchable,” which directly challenges the rigid social hierarchy of Indian society. Their relationship is not only emotionally intimate but also leads to severe consequences, as it provokes violent punishment and ultimately contributes to Velutha’s brutal death at the hands of the police. This episode exposes both the cruelty of the caste system and the destructive power of social taboos, but its emotional weight and depiction of violence can be difficult for younger readers to process. For some, this reinforces the idea that certain books should be reserved for more mature students rather than included in general curricula.

History textbooks also play a central role in this debate. Unlike fiction, they claim to present factual accounts. Yet they are often shaped by national narratives and political choices. For example, in Nazi Germany, textbooks were deliberately rewritten to promote propaganda, glorify the regime, and erase or distort inconvenient truths. More subtly, even in modern education systems, perspectives can differ. In the United Kingdom, the Second World War is often taught from a “winner’s perspective,” which can downplay the experiences and losses of other nations. Here, the question is not whether content is considered too controversial, but whether avoiding uncomfortable truths undermines education itself. Shielding students from difficult aspects of history risks producing a simplified and misleading understanding of the world.

However, restricting books raises its own set of problems. Education is not only about comfort; it is about critical thinking and intellectual growth. Literature, in particular, allows students to encounter perspectives and experiences far removed from their own. Difficult topics, when approached thoughtfully, can foster empathy and encourage meaningful discussion. Avoiding them altogether may limit students’ ability to engage with real-world issues.

For instance, George Orwell’s “1984” explores themes of surveillance, control, and psychological manipulation. While not explicit in the same way as some contemporary works, it presents a deeply unsettling vision of society. Yet it is widely taught precisely because it challenges students to think critically about power and freedom. Similarly, Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird“, despite ongoing debates about its portrayal of race, remains a key text for discussing injustice and moral courage.

Banning books is not the solution. What matters more is how they are taught and the support given to students when engaging with them. The same text can be either harmful or enlightening depending on how it is introduced and discussed. Teachers play a crucial role in framing difficult material, creating a safe environment for dialogue, and supporting students who may find certain topics personally challenging. Age-appropriate selection is also essential: what may be unsuitable at one stage of education could be highly valuable at another.

Another important factor is diversity of perspectives. Including a wide range of voices, across cultures, genders, and historical experiences, can help students engage with complex issues without relying on a single narrative. This reduces the risk of any one text being seen as representative of an entire topic and encourages a more nuanced understanding.

Consequently, the question is not simply whether some topics are too radical, but what the purpose of education should be. If the goal is to prepare students for the realities of the world, then completely avoiding difficult subjects seems counterproductive. At the same time, this does not mean that all material is appropriate in all contexts. Careful selection, thoughtful teaching, and open discussion are key to navigating this balance.

Ultimately, the issue is not about removing books from the curriculum. It is about ensuring students are prepared to engage with them in a meaningful way. Challenging texts can cause discomfort, but they also encourage thinking and deeper understanding.

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence.

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Cafés as intellectual laboratories and personal growth hubs in France

İdil Erkan — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

How do the aesthetically curated and Instagram-famous cafés in the heart of France that dominate your feed, once were the egalitarian hubs that sparked millions of intellectual ideas?

The café culture in France, especially in Paris, is well-known and has been widely popularised in recent decades alongside the rise in social media use. However, the cafés in Paris are not only defined by their picturesque designs and façades, but also by their significance as intellectual and revolutionary hubs, which have played a significant role since the first café institution launched in France.

I will briefly mention why, as Ray Oldenburg mentions, “Third-places” like cafés, bookstores, pubs, parks and many accessible places, stimulate curiosity and open up more space to personal growth through exchanging ideas. Then, I will intend to demonstrate concrete examples of the sociology of Parisian cafés and ask how we should appreciate the presence of this phenomenon.

The so-called “third-places” unconsciously occupy a significant part of our lives. This concept is coined by the sociologist Ray Oldenburg, arguing that these third-places are a way of escape from our monotonous lives in confined realms of residence and employment. Specifically, cafés as third-places constitute essential hubs where we socially engage with others and contribute to our personal well-being. We have the appropriate environment to exchange our ideas with each other without the pressure of our private and working lives. We strengthen our communities, spark our inner curiosity and stimulate our intellectual thinking by using cafés as a catalyst for growth at its best.

The café culture in Paris, France has always been cosmopolitan, meaning that it has shaped in a way that many of the remarkable and renowned philosophers, thinkers, writers, curators, artists, and art critics found those public cafés as a second workspace where they had fruitful discussions, and gave public lectures. It was sophisticated and welcomed people from various backgrounds and experiences. What I significantly want to emphasise about these cafés is that they were venues where the hierarchy between scholars and students flattened, and tone softened, as well as the hybrid networks of professors and students began to establish themselves. Thus, there was an egalitarian atmosphere where barriers to entry into vivid conversations did not exist.

Of course, these cafés and hubs still exist in the glamorous boulevards of Saint-Germain, in Place Blanche, in Place de l’Odéon, and so much more. From one decade to another, Parisian cafés conserved their reputation thanks to these tentative and curious people. Those were the places where the spark of a revolutionary set of ideas emerged, such as existentialism and surrealism. Additionally, political post-war intellectual discourse and the 1968 May student uprisings plans in France made their first light to shine in those cafés. Grand intellectuals like Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire, and even significant art critics like Diderot, pondered their ideas not in isolation but through arguments, stress-testing and informal “peer-reviews” by others in those cafés.

The examples I can give from the most popular cafés in Paris obviously can be Les Deux Magots, Le Café de Flore, Café Procope, Le Select and so on. It is really interesting that Café de Flore was home for Sartrean existentialism and Les Deux Magots was home for fruitful political debates by Camus and Sartre, questions about rebellion and how to combat totalitarianism flew through the air.

However, this phenomenon is likely to disappear mostly because of digitalisation and pursuing the aim of showing private life on social media; in other words, we prefer virtual living over reality and loaded conversations. While the conversations linked to the concrete experience of sharing a table, having a brunch and one glass of wine or café in unhurried time, today’s “third-place” times are more likely to be dependent on virtual living, turning our valuable experiences into our digital identity curation. Although today the “third-places” in Paris preserves its importance and intellectual atmosphere, these places also start to be the victim of digital identity builders.

It is substantially valuable and significant for cafés to continue to serve as intellectual hubs and community gardens for spontaneous interactions, knowledge exchange and sociability. The egalitarian atmosphere that many writers and philosophers created in Paris and other parts of France is an inspiration for the sophisticated contemporary café culture.

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Sources / Further Reading:

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The paradox of tolerance or politics?

Sam Tengbergen — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:44:06 +0000

In 1945, Karl Popper introduced the idea of the paradox of tolerance. Looking back at the aftermath of the Second World War, Popper wrestled with the question of how far open societies, those that prioritised democracy and freedom, should allow movements that opposed exactly those values. On one hand, a society that permits no criticism at all risks becoming authoritarian and undemocratic itself, but on the other, unlimited tolerance toward such movements could lead to the destruction of the open society from within.

Now, eighty years later, I argue that the tolerance paradox is becoming more relevant by the day. In recent decades, the West has seen a rise in the popularity of far-right populist parties and movements. While not every right-wing populist party is undemocratic, there is a recurring theme when it comes to issues around immigration policy. At CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, in 2025, multiple right-wing populist political figures gathered in Viktor Orban’s Budapest to voice their concerns about the West. Islam, in particular, did not escape scrutiny.

Geert Wilders, leader of a party best known for its anti-Islam rhetoric, was fierce; the “Islamization of Europe” posed a serious threat. Yet Wilders was nuanced enough to clarify that “not every Muslim is an extremist,” and even during a televised youth debate, he managed to tone down his Islamophobic tendencies. When a minor asked him why he was so harsh toward Muslims, he defended himself with nuance, “I have nothing against Muslims, only against the religion; the ideas it represents.”

However, this nuance proves far less clear in practice. During the same elections, he posted a tweet showing the PVV voter as a young blonde white woman, and the PVDA/GL voter, a left-wing party and PVV’s main opponent, as a slightly darker-skinned woman in a headscarf, glaring angrily with wrinkles. I would have preferred that the youth debate host had confronted Wilders about this tweet. In that image, portraying a Muslim woman as an angry witch, there was no substantive critique of Islam; it was purely a caricature and an attack on the Muslim as a person.

That said, it is of course possible to be critical of Islam, or religion in general. One can legitimately question how Islam, or Christianity in certain branches, adheres to norms and values that clash with the free character of an open society. Examples include gender equality or rights for sexual minorities. This is also where the ambiguity of Western values becomes apparent. At CPAC, right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro spoke of Judeo-Christian values. Yet for figures like him, these “Western” values are not so much the Enlightenment values of freedom and equality, but the values of traditionalism and the nuclear family.

This ambiguity was also highlighted when Charlie Kirk was confronted during a debate at the Cambridge Union by student Tilly Middlehurst. Kirk said, “If we want to talk about how Islam treats women, we could talk all day long,” only to be left speechless when Middlehurst responded that her problem was with all religious fundamentalism, including Kirk’s Christianity.

This ambiguity, however, was not always so pronounced among right-wing populists, at least not in the Netherlands. When I was one year old, Pim Fortuyn, a politician who first put criticism of Islam on the agenda, was shot. Although I never actively experienced his politics for that reason, I mourn his death, not because I fully agreed with his views, but I thought his perspective on the “Islamization” of the Netherlands was often doom-laden and not always grounded in sober reality.

Yet, unlike Wilders, Fortuyn was consistent. He was openly homosexual and did not shy away from criticising strict Christian ideology. He was also pro-euthanasia. Today, several right-wing populist politicians seek to claim his legacy, including Wilders. But someone like Wilders would hardly ever criticise strict Christian ideas in the same way. Beyond the fact that Wilders rarely addresses substance at all, unlike Fortuyn, he would not dare touch the value clashes that strict Christianity may have with a free West. Much of his support comes precisely from areas where Christianity has a strong following.

The reason I mourn Fortuyn’s death is that, unlike politicians such as Wilders or Thierry Baudet, another figure claiming Fortuyn’s heritage while streaming with Andrew Tate – who makes plenty of homophobic and misogynistic remarks – he was consistent and critiqued the illiberal ideas of religion coherently.

Today, one critique of left-wing parties is that they avoid addressing the illiberal nature of religion, like Islam or Christianity, because xenophobes like Wilders monopolise the rhetoric. Still, it is crucial that, difficult as it may be, the discussion happens, and that the hypocrisy of the right is also exposed.

Because if we turn a blind eye to movements that want to impose total restrictions on religious people, or fail to criticise extreme religious ideas, which are also undemocratic, we inch closer to scenarios where the question Karl Popper posed eighty years ago becomes ever more urgent.

Disclaimer: This article was partly written in Dutch. For this, DeepL was used for translation.

Further reading:

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The post The paradox of tolerance or politics? first appeared on Checks&Balances.

The dilemma of the FIFA World Cup 2026

Line Bodil Bijleveld — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:53:57 +0000

This year, the FIFA World Cup will be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States of America. While the Dutch national team has started playing friendly matches, some concerns about the ethical side of the tournament have arisen. In the Netherlands, a petition against participating in the World Cup has started, because of Donald Trump’s policies and behaviour. His national policies concerning the way immigrants in the United States are treated have provided reason for people to call for a boycott. In addition, his international policies, like intervening in countries like Venezuela and Iran while violating international law, strengthen this reason. According to Teun van de Keuken, the starter of the petition, participating in this tournament legitimises Trump’s actions, which is why, according to him, the Dutch team should not join it.

The petition is addressed to the Dutch government and the KNVB (Royal National Football Association). Although the government has said it takes the petition seriously, it mentions that it is up to the KNVB to decide whether to participate or not. In Germany and France, there have also been voices against the World Cup. However, the governments of both countries have said they are not planning on boycotting the tournament. What is remarkable is how there is relatively less opposition against the FIFA World Cup 2026 compared to all the commotion around the FIFA World Cup 2022 that was held in Qatar.

During the preparation for the World Cup in Qatar, the people who were building the stadiums had to work in inhumane circumstances, which led to the deaths of people. This, along with the situation for minorities in Qatar in general, has led to a lot of concerns about human rights in the country. Although there were no teams that boycotted the tournament, several French cities decided not to set up fan zones for watching the matches. Furthermore, various teams and officials showed signs of protest during the World Cup.

Although Iran has decided not to attend matches taking place in the United States due to security concerns, it has not decided to boycott the World Cup itself. It is highly unlikely that countries will boycott the tournament. This is because of the argument that sport and politics should be separated. Moreover, boycotting the World Cup could be a risky move for a country because it would give Trump reputational damage, which might lead to his retaliating out of spite. The only factor that might influence European countries’ decision to boycott the World Cup would be a worsening of the situation between the United States, Greenland and Denmark.

All the commotion around the World Cups does show how sport and politics are heavily related to each other. Moreover, it shows how political actions can influence the way sport is perceived and enjoyed, because in the absence of a national boycott, fans might choose an individual boycott, or they might watch the tournament that is supposed to be a unifying event with double feelings. Although a full boycott is unlikely, it would be great if country representatives stand up against Trump and express their opinion during the World Cup as they did in Qatar.

Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence.