Month: April 2025

Free deliberation and POGG

Posted on by Christopher Berry

In Canada, we refer to POGG Powers, those of Peace, Order and Good Government. The reference is buried in the Constitution Act, 1982 (Hipster: Constitution Act, 1867), way down there in Section 91: “the federal Parliament the power to make laws for the “peace, order, and good government of Canada”. These words are the bed rock that a plural, geographical disaster of a country was passively and sometimes aggressively cobbled together. We all choose to observe some truly stupid laws restricting our short term happiness to preserve the long term, stable, results that only Peace and Order can bring. It brings about some truly bizarre and paradoxical policies. Of course, you’re free to argue against Peace and Order. Good luck[…]

The Weakness Of Weak Commissives

Posted on by Christopher Berry

Commissives, vows and pledges, are a peculiar class of rhetorical tool. I’ll argue that their predictive value vary by culture. Commissives as a cultural product I credit Liubertė and Dimov (2021) for telling me what a commissive is, and Trott (2013) for explaining just how important they are in American culture. A commissive is a vow, pledge, or a promise. I use the com- prefix to remember it. The com- prefix signals ideas like come together, commingle, community, or commitment. Trott highlights the difference between British culture, in which its fashionable to not commit, and American, where it’s expected. In America, you have to be all in. You have got to be stoked. To borrow from Komori (2015): it’s to[…]