(Maybe) Dr. Matt
@milliganmattd.bsky.social
Socio-Economic Historian and sometimes Philologist of Buddhism @ The University of Michigan. Writing "Was the Buddha a Socialist?" and "Of Rags and Riches"
As new tariff wars loom in 2025, read my latest on how corporate lobbying dressed up as faith turned the Constitution into a pay-to-pray scheme.
Read (for free) here:
shorturl.at/uPWwj
Read (for free) here:
shorturl.at/uPWwj
The 2019 Bible Tariff Exemption: Religious Favoritism in Trade Policy
Occasional Research vol. 8
shorturl.at
June 18, 2025 at 4:32 PM
As new tariff wars loom in 2025, read my latest on how corporate lobbying dressed up as faith turned the Constitution into a pay-to-pray scheme.
Read (for free) here:
shorturl.at/uPWwj
Read (for free) here:
shorturl.at/uPWwj
If you're confused, or outraged, at today's State Protectionist philosophies that are strange, erratic, and potentially harmful... then you'll be happy to know that the current government is _still_ ecstatic about the business of picking winners and losers, right down to religious scripture.
The 2019 Bible Tariff Exemption: Religious Favoritism in Trade Policy
Occasional Research vol. 8
shorturl.at
June 18, 2025 at 4:32 PM
If you're confused, or outraged, at today's State Protectionist philosophies that are strange, erratic, and potentially harmful... then you'll be happy to know that the current government is _still_ ecstatic about the business of picking winners and losers, right down to religious scripture.
The numbers are staggering: 90% of Peter's Pence—marketed as charity for the poor—actually funds Vatican bureaucracy.
A single London property deal lost $385 million.
Museum visitors generate $132 million yearly, but it's not nearly enough. The math simply doesn't work.
A single London property deal lost $385 million.
Museum visitors generate $132 million yearly, but it's not nearly enough. The math simply doesn't work.
June 8, 2025 at 4:07 PM
The numbers are staggering: 90% of Peter's Pence—marketed as charity for the poor—actually funds Vatican bureaucracy.
A single London property deal lost $385 million.
Museum visitors generate $132 million yearly, but it's not nearly enough. The math simply doesn't work.
A single London property deal lost $385 million.
Museum visitors generate $132 million yearly, but it's not nearly enough. The math simply doesn't work.
Are we ready for a Sharktopus-nado?
March 22, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Are we ready for a Sharktopus-nado?
Email abstracts and manuscripts to me (DM if you need the address).
We look forward to receiving your contributions, which promise to advance the scholarly understanding of the economic underpinnings of Buddhist civilizations.
We look forward to receiving your contributions, which promise to advance the scholarly understanding of the economic underpinnings of Buddhist civilizations.
March 17, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Email abstracts and manuscripts to me (DM if you need the address).
We look forward to receiving your contributions, which promise to advance the scholarly understanding of the economic underpinnings of Buddhist civilizations.
We look forward to receiving your contributions, which promise to advance the scholarly understanding of the economic underpinnings of Buddhist civilizations.
Abstracts (approximately 250–300 words) are due by April 15, 2025. Following a successful abstract review, full manuscripts will be invited for submission by June 15, 2025. For further submission details, please refer to the JEMAR submission guidelines.
March 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Abstracts (approximately 250–300 words) are due by April 15, 2025. Following a successful abstract review, full manuscripts will be invited for submission by June 15, 2025. For further submission details, please refer to the JEMAR submission guidelines.
We encourage studies that utilize robust historical, quantitative, and qualitative methodologies, rather than contemporary advocacy or normative reinterpretations.
March 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM
We encourage studies that utilize robust historical, quantitative, and qualitative methodologies, rather than contemporary advocacy or normative reinterpretations.
the organization of monastic economies, patronage systems, the role of pilgrimage circuits, economic policies in Buddhist states, and interdisciplinary methodologies for reconstructing historical economic phenomena through texts, inscriptions, and archaeological data.
March 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM
the organization of monastic economies, patronage systems, the role of pilgrimage circuits, economic policies in Buddhist states, and interdisciplinary methodologies for reconstructing historical economic phenomena through texts, inscriptions, and archaeological data.
Submissions should offer innovative analyses of the economic institutions, fiscal practices, trade networks, and material cultures associated with Buddhist communities. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
March 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Submissions should offer innovative analyses of the economic institutions, fiscal practices, trade networks, and material cultures associated with Buddhist communities. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
We welcome scholarly contributions that critically examine the economic dimensions of Buddhist societies—from ancient to contemporary contexts and across all regions where Buddhism has influenced economic structures.
March 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM
We welcome scholarly contributions that critically examine the economic dimensions of Buddhist societies—from ancient to contemporary contexts and across all regions where Buddhism has influenced economic structures.
He extends Marx's metaphor of religion as "opium." He presents religion not merely as a painkiller but as an intoxicant that prevents people from perceiving their true condition. This framing eliminates nuance and denies that religious practice might serve purposes beyond social control.
March 12, 2025 at 12:44 AM
He extends Marx's metaphor of religion as "opium." He presents religion not merely as a painkiller but as an intoxicant that prevents people from perceiving their true condition. This framing eliminates nuance and denies that religious practice might serve purposes beyond social control.