My original post on Toohey’s five strategies of altruism has been published in a print version designed by Christopher Vaughan, with graphics and scary pull quotes. Here is the PDF version. The post’s opening: “The ethics of altruism holds that others are standard of value. One is good to the extent one puts the interests […]
“Toohey’s Five Strategies of Altruism” reprint Read More »
The Nazis were evil, killing millions of human beings, and they have universally and properly properly condemned for their horrors. The Soviets were also evil, killing more millions than the Nazis did, yet they have not been universally condemned. The Soviets have been attacked by libertarians, conservatives, and moderates as a great lesson in evil
Soviets and Nazis — which were worse? Read More »
Part of a work-in-progress in philosophy of economics, here is the video of a seminar I led on “Economics as a Value Science.” Part of my argument is that there is a large, problematic gap in economic theory about the relationship between economic facts and economic values. Along the way I discuss Friedrich Hayek, David
Seminar on “Economics as a Value Science” Read More »
[Following up on my “Do conservatives really value economic liberty?”, on the conservatisms of Newt Gingrich, Robert Bork, and Irving Kristol.] In The New York Times, moderate conservative David Brooks reflects upon Charles Murray’s Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010. Brooks agrees with Murray that Americans have divided into two polarized “tribes.” “The
Another anti-freedom conservative: David Brooks Read More »
More data showing that culture, not race, is crucial to educational performance: “Africans outperform African-Americans in Seattle schools: Even the children of destitute Somali refugees do better.” From the Seattle Times report: “African-American students whose primary language is English perform significantly worse in math and reading than black students who speak another language at home
Immigrant culture, race, and education Read More »
Natural News surveyed its readers asking which corporations they believed to be the most evil: Monsanto topped the list, followed by B.P., Halliburton, McDonald’s, Pfizer, Merck, Wal-Mart, and Nestlé. Natural News writer Mike Adams reported on the survey results, chiming in to agree and add his opinion that Monsanto is not only evil but psychotic
The “Monsanto is evil” puzzle Read More »
Egalitarianism wins. Chipotle restaurant lost an appeal opportunity when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Chipotle had been sued by a wheelchair-bound customer who complained that while other customers could see their food being prepared a four-foot high counter blocked his view from his wheelchair perspective. The plaintiff argued that his rights
Chipotle Mexican Grill versus egalitarianism Read More »
Why did the modern economic revolution in production and trade first happen in north-western Europe? At the APEE conference, Deirdre McCloskey delivered a plenary address based on her new book, Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can’t Explain the Modern World. Her argument is that neither material resources nor technology nor capital accumulation nor geographical factors drove
APEE update — Deirdre McCloskey Read More »