Category Archives: Philosophy

Risk and Reward

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 … Continue reading

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Free Riding?

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 … Continue reading

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George Lakoff: Neo-Syndicalist

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. … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Domestic Politics, Election 2008, History, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy, social science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

What Is ASHC?

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 … Continue reading

Posted in Blogs, Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Notes on the war, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Free Will

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 … Continue reading

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“You grew up in freedom, and you can spit on freedom, because you don’t know what it is not to have it.”

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 … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign affairs, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy, social science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Wildness Lies in Wait

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 … Continue reading

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Libertarian Timeline

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 … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Politics, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy | 1 Comment

“I don’t like other people telling me what to do.”

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, … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Philosophy, Religion and theology | Leave a comment

A Torturous Dilemma

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 … Continue reading

Posted in MichaelW's Page, Military Matters, Philosophy | 3 Comments