Those of us in the democratic-republican West often find it impossible to understand how the world could go to war so often in the 20th century. We were raised in a culture that had internalized Locke, Jefferson, Mill, and others—for whom the goal of peace and respect for others’ rights to life, liberty, and property […]
Werner Sombart on heroes versus merchants Read More »
According to Shostakovich: “Rimsky-Korsakov used to say that he refused to acknowledge any complaints from composers about their hard lot in life. He explained his position thus: Talk to a bookkeeper and he’ll start complaining about life and his work. Work has ruined him, it’s so dull and boring. You see, the bookkeeper had planned
Rimsky-Korsakov on the “hardship” of the composer’s life Read More »
A short publication of mine entitled “The Ethics of Outside Funding”. Some years ago there was controversy in the academic world about the BB&T Charitable Foundation’s sponsoring programs on the moral foundations of capitalism. I participated in a conference panel that debated the issue pro and con. After an interesting set of papers and the
The ethics of outside funding Read More »
My review essay on Donald Frey’s America’s Economic Moralists: A History of Rival Ethics and Economics (State University of New York Press) was published in Business Ethics Quarterly. Subscribers to BEQ can access the issue here. Or my author-read audio version is at YouTube. My conclusion: “America’s Economic Moralists is a good historical survey of
My review of Frey’s *America’s Economic Moralists* Read More »
From the preface to Andy Grove‘s (recommended) Only the Paranoid Survive: “The sad news is, nobody owes you a career. Your career is literally your business. You own it as a sole proprietor. You have one employee: yourself. You are in competition with millions of similar businesses: millions of other employees all over the world.
Andy Grove on the entrepreneurial employee Read More »
Reading up on the crypto-FTX bankruptcy and scandal. Four items of interest: The New York Times after-the-fact: “How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Empire Collapsed.“ Before the scandal broke: “Stanford Law Profs’ Son Is A ‘Vegan Crypto Billionaire.’“ On of those Stanford law professors, Barbara Fried, wrote “Beyond Blame”, in which she argued that no one is
Should we blame FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried for anything? Read More »
Join Mark Michael Lewis and philosophy Professor Stephen Hicks in a conversation about an honest approach to knowledge and understanding human thriving. In this episode: Why you should always take arguments at their best [10:15] The reason why many philosophers are ‘left’ [16:00] How Objectivism is an ‘outlier’ philosophy [19:00] 3rd-generation Postmodernism and the Weaponry
Every other year or so I post that the United States Postal Service government monopoly loses billions while private-sector FedEx and UPS were profitable. It’s a multi-decade trend now. FedEx and UPS versus USPS. * USPS Loses $15.9 Billion – But Bosses Get Hefty Compensation Raises. * FedEx Income Statement. * UPS International Profit Rebounds.
USPS still losing big money—2021 edition Read More »