While reading more about education reform, I came across this post by my friend Mark — “Two Links on Political Economy” — that in term referenced to articles by John Robb, “BOW-TIE CONTROL SYSTEMS,” and “JOURNAL: Global Financial Cancer. While John’s rhetoric is typically melodramatic, he uses the terms “bow-tie” and platform” to refer to what I’ve called a “bank” and a “central actor.” I like the term “platform,”so I went back to understand where else I’ve used the idea on the blog.

Under the Term “Central Actor”

• The Encirclement of a United Front
• The Bank of the Federal-Academic Complex
• How to Be a Central Actor in the Education Debate

Social Platforms

• The Abolition of Linguistic Ghettos

Transportation

• Review of “The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger,” by Marc Levinson
• Review of “Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West,” by William Cronon

Warfare

• The Military-Industrial-Sysadmin-Complex is a 5GW Platform
• We Need a Structure
• A Great Idea

Referencing Other Writers

• Network Centric Politics and The Opposition Party
• EBO: Effects-Based Operations
• Support Freedom. Support the Gas Tax
• The Military-Industrial Complex becomes the Sysadmin-Industrial Complex, despite the Kossacks
• Warring Platforms
• Naturally, Low Quality
• Among Other Programs