Thoughts On ...: The daily musings of an economist turned artist

Scott MacLeay began jotting down his thoughts on various topics while at university. Recalling his original motivation, he states "I purposely framed the process as one dedicated to the creation of very succinct summaries of my thoughts. I felt that it was essential to be brief. It obliged me to take sides on issues that I obviously realized were far more nuanced and multi-dimensional than such summaries could ever represent. This avowed shortcoming was unimportant to me because the objective of the exercise was to synthesize my thoughts in a manner conducive to the development of positions capable of stimulating possible actions in order to avoid the paralyzing inaction that often accompanies comprehensive understanding. While the latter course may seem preferable with its inferred refusal to engage in conflict, its success depends on everyone playing the game of life in good faith, and as such, is simply not a viable option."
During the Covid-19 pandemic MacLeay decided to create a book composed of thoughts he had been gathering on his computer since moving from Paris to Brazil in 2010. In his own words "The reason I began to formalize the presentation of my thoughts on a wide variety of topics was to provide my daughter with a record of my personal positions on philosophical, ethical, sociopolitical, economic and cultural issues that I felt affected our daily lives. I wanted her to have a trace of my positions in these areas long after I was gone."
The result is this collection of the author's personal thoughts on a range of subjects in various fields (culture, economics, politics, philosophy, sociology) that he felt were relevant not only to his personal journey, but also in more general terms to the challenges we all face on a daily basis in contemporary society.