Author
Brent Ranalli
Humanities scholar at the Ronin Institute
Brent Ranalli is a policy professional and a humanities scholar at the Ronin Institute. He co-edits “Environment: An Interdisciplinary Anthology” for Yale University Press.
His recent projects include investigating the potential to reform the U.S. Congress by means of a secret ballot (published by the Congressional Research Institute and Foreign Affairs).
His other recent project is on promoting the involvement of youth in agriculture via a voluntary national service program.
Articles by Brent Ranalli
Trump’s Rubicon
Though separated by 2,000 years, the uncanny parallels between Donald Trump and Julius Caesar continue to become more apparent.
October 26, 2024
Wars of Conquest: Mexico 1846 and Ukraine 2022 Compared
Why conquest in the 21st century is no longer an acceptable form of behavior from adults.
June 3, 2023
Trump’s Crossing the Rubicon
When faced with his own Rubicon moment, will Trump provoke a crisis or will he stand down?
November 4, 2020
Donald Trump, Not Your Grandfather’s Caesar: The Big Differences
Julius Caesar’s and Donald Trump’s outsized ambition and lack of scruples turned them into dangers to republican values and institutions. But how were they different?
November 2, 2020
Trump and Caesar: Two Men Above the Law
In their ruthless pursuit of power and self-aggrandizement, both Caesar and Trump run roughshod over laws and norms.
November 1, 2020
Donald Trump as Julius Caesar: The Curtain Raiser
Why Donald Trump resembles Julius Caesar more than does Obama or practically any other figure in recent history.
October 31, 2020
Trump: Jimmy Carter Redux
Is Donald Trump poised to learn the lessons that Jimmy Carter learnt in 1976?
November 23, 2016
Thomas Paine’s Climate Solution: Would He Recognize It?
Paine’s revolutionary proposal to "share the wealth" from land and natural resources may help solve the climate crisis.
July 7, 2015
Carbon Permits: Paine’s Social Dividend
The issue that is poised to bring common-wealth dividends into the mainstream today is climate change.
July 6, 2015
Disappearing Jobs? Our Thomas Paine Moment
As automation eliminates jobs, Paine’s proposal to share wealth from the commons shows a way forward.
July 5, 2015
After Paine: Henry George’s “Single Tax”
Nearly a century after Thomas Paine’s proposal, reformer Henry George popularized a similar scheme.
July 4, 2015
Thomas Paine’s Agrarian Justice and John Locke
Both Locke and Paine sought to create a middle class.
July 3, 2015
Thomas Paine’s Dividend: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
Remembered for his political idealism, Paine also had ideas about economic justice.
July 2, 2015
Strange Bedfellows: Hungary Leans Toward Russia
Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin as cross-ideological autocratic allies.
March 10, 2014
Snow and Politics in Hungary
Can a freak snowstorm show a Central European nation how to get along with its neighbors?
March 22, 2013
Beyond the Mayan Calendar: Doomsdayism is Alive and Well
What are we to make of the strange social and cultural phenomenon of expectations of a worldwide calamity?
January 1, 2013
Ayn Rand: The Siren of U.S. Conservatism (Part II)
How have the ideas of Ayn Rand shaped contemporary Republican thinking on economic and political issues?
November 3, 2012
Ayn Rand: The Siren of U.S. Conservatism
If Reagan is the father of modern U.S. conservatism, Ayn Rand is certainly its mother.
November 2, 2012
The Conservative Case for a Proactive Climate Policy
Why might taking a leadership role on climate change help conservatives preserve the civil liberties they fear environmentalists will take away?
August 28, 2012
The Terrorism Endgame: Lessons from the War on Anarchy (Part II)
Will the threat of terrorism fade away, much as the threat of radical anarchy did over a century ago?
October 13, 2011
The Terrorism Endgame: Lessons from the War on Anarchy (Part I)
How is the "war on terror" akin to the war on anarchy the West waged a little over a century ago?
October 12, 2011
Vulnerable China and the Trade Surplus: Part III
How does China's trade surplus affect its role in the global economy?
February 26, 2009
China and the Global Politics of Trade, Then and Now: Part II
How were the foundations of modern trade policy created during the 1800s?
February 25, 2009
China’s Great Trade Surplus: Part I
Is China's trade policy today affected by its collective memory of 19th century dealings with Europe?
February 24, 2009
A Tale of Three Additives (Part II)
What challenges does the widespread use of ethanol present to the environment — and to food prices?
May 27, 2008
A Tale of Three Additives (Part I)
What is the real story behind the additives in our gasoline?
May 26, 2008
The Iraq War and the Sicilian Campaign (Part II)
What lessons does ancient history hold for the United States and its involvement in Iraq?
January 23, 2007
The Iraq War and the Sicilian Campaign (Part I)
What parallels emerge between the U.S.-led war in Iraq and the Athenian campaign against Sicily in 415 B.C.?
January 22, 2007
Monopoly for Socialists
Can a socialist version of the Monopoly game teach the capitalist world about its economic system?
September 20, 2003
Hungary Reconsiders Its Future
Was Hungary coaxed into EU membership — and did it have a choice?
June 9, 2003