Peg on Aug 18 2008 | Filed under: Law, Libertarianism, Media, Peg's Page, Philosophy, Society, regulation
Many of us, when we hear the phrase “risk and reward” think of Wall Street. Or business in general.
But in reality, “risk and reward” affect us throughout our lives.
Our parents take a risk when they conceive us. They hope that we will provide them with more joy and satisfaction than heartache and pain. They [...]
Lance on Aug 05 2008 | Filed under: Economics, Lance's Page, Philosophy
Alex Taborrak has a story:
How an Economist Thinks
Over the weekend a crew came round my neighborhood offering to paint house numbers on the curb. Large bold curb numbers, they pointed out, make it easier for emergency service workers to find houses in the dark. Good argument. The price was good too. [...]
MichaelW on Jun 23 2008 | Filed under: Books, Domestic Politics, Election 2008, History, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy, social science
Over the weekend I read with fascination William Saletan’s review of the new offering from George Lakoff, “The Political Mind,” and was struck by the remarkable similarities between it and the revolutionary syndicalism espoused during the prior fin de siècle.
In particular, Saletan summarizes Lakoff’s principal idea as the need for progressives to recapture [...]
MichaelW on Apr 17 2008 | Filed under: Blogs, Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war, Philosophy
There seems to be some confusion on the part of some as to exactly what sort of place ASHC is:
I was rather surprised to read this dubious and scornful appraisal of Michael Yon’s Wallstreet Journal editorial at A Second Hand Conjecture, a heretofore conservative site.
The post Mick Stockinger is referring to was created by Joshua [...]
Peg on Feb 13 2008 | Filed under: Law, Peg's Page, Philosophy
As a philosophy student, issues of free will were some of the most complex and intriguing that I studied. Is free will real or a chimera? If real, is it always applicable? How do we judge such questions?
At one of my favorite blogs, The Volokh Conspiracy, guest blogger Adam Kolber addresses these [...]
MichaelW on Feb 11 2008 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy, social science
For your viewing pleasure, watch Ayaan Hirsi Ali effortlessly dismantle the typical leftist tropes thrown at her in an interview with Avi Lewis (Naomi Klein’s husband). The quote serving as the title comes across as venomously pointed when read, but when Ali delivers it towards the end of the interview it sounds perfectly reasonable [...]
Lance on Feb 11 2008 | Filed under: Lance's Page, Philosophy
The real trouble with this world of ours is not that it is an unreasonable world, nor even that it is a reasonable one. The commonest kind of trouble is that it is nearly reasonable, but not quite. Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little [...]
MichaelW on Dec 19 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy
As told by Mother Jones … so yeah, it’s a little, umm, “slanted.” My favorite distortion:
1977: The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, is founded in San Francisco with funding from oil baron Charles G. Koch. The name comes from Cato’s Letters, newspaper articles written by two Englishmen using the pen name Cato the [...]
MichaelW on Dec 05 2007 | Filed under: Environment, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy, Religion and theology
Amen.
One of the reasons I abhor communitarianism (and tend to see my political philosophy as the opposite of that) is because it vests communitarian thinkers with the self appointed power to tell me (and others) what to do. Provided, of course, that they come up with a claim to do so in the name of [...]
MichaelW on Nov 02 2007 | Filed under: MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Philosophy
In light of the recent discussion about torture around here, this little thought experiment seems appropriate and perhaps informative. If you don’t think that torture is ever a good choice, then read to the end of this post — you will change your mind:
If neither event is going to happen to you personally, but [...]
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