Tootfinder

Modeling society with a responsible elite
Yana Tsodikova, Pavel Chebotarev
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.15877 https://arxiv.org/pdf/250…

Modeling society with a responsible elite
Within the framework of the ViSE (Voting in a Stochastic Environment) model, we examine the dynamics in a society, part of which can be considered an elite. The model allows us to analyze the influence of social attitudes, such as collectivism, individualism, altruism on the well-being of agents. The dynamics is determined by collective decisions and changes in the structure of society, in particular, by the formation of groups of cooperating agents. It is found that the presence of a "responsi…

Calamus 26 We two boys together clinging
This is one of the gayest of the Calamus poems, a fantasy of two men against the world, full of life and ardor. I should be all over this in my gay reading!
Instead I see a darker form of Americanism here. "Power enjoying ... Armed and fearless ... No law less than ourselves". It's classic American individualism fantasy, a repudiation of community and law. Armed, at that.
On top of that I trip over the "North and South" part every time I read this. In 1860 when this was published we were just steps away from a Civil War after 10 years of enormous tension. I don't blame Whitman for wanting unity, his whole program in Leaves of Grass is American unity. All I can think is how there's no moral equivalence between the North and South. But Whitman wasn't an abolitionist and this poem reflects that.
Sorry for not reveling in the gay, maybe it's the ICE and California National Guard news affecting my reading today.

#WritersCoffeeClub
June 19: How would you describe the theme of the whole of your œuvre?
Describing everything is hardly possible, especially when the theme shifts with time.
Still, if I had to pick something, I'd say individualism, humanism, rebellion and justice. Systems crunching people in the cogs persist to this day. I never truly "outgrew" it - and, see…