Optimal Work on Josef Pieper's Leisure, the Basis of Culture

Role models are great. We all oughtta have a few. But don’t underestimate the anti-role models. These cautionary wraiths of consequence are more often the true educators in this carnival of folly called “modernity,” whispering not “be like me” but “For God’s sake, be anything but.” That lean

Smooth makes things rough. Ease makes life more difficult. Soft makes us brittle. We lost something when asphalt replaced cobblestone. Every step on those old, gnarled stones forced a man’s body to shift, recalibrate, and work. The more cobblestonish the surface, the more micro-exertions. The more asphaltish the surface,

Picture a man, tattered coat flapping, rummaging through a dumpster in an alley. You wince, don’t you? That flicker of disgust ripples through your gut. But hold on. Don’t judge him too harshly. He’s not much different from a stray dog, sniffing for scraps. That’s not