Stephen Fry was asked: If you were to meet God, what would you say? His answer: “How dare you create a world in which there is such misery?” For that he is being investigated by a government for violating blasphemy laws. In the 21st century. In Europe. On the philosophy: my introductory lecture on the […]
Blasphemy: Stephen Fry and the Problem of Evil Read More »
Excerpt from Reflections on the Failure of Socialism (1955) By Max Forrester Eastman (1883-1969) People who read these reflections may wonder how I arrived at the understanding that socialism has failed. I am describing the whole experience in another book, but here a brief glance at the intellectual road I traveled may be helpful. It has
Max Eastman on abandoning socialism [text] Read More »
When Nazi Germany and fascist Italy were defeated, the great historical question was: Will liberalism or socialism prevail in the world? The ensuing mix of cold and hot wars and ideological battles reached their climax in our generation — with the fallout from the Soviet Union’s collapse, the enduring sadness of Cuba, the ongoing mess
Our generation’s question: Liberalism or Fascism or Socialism? Read More »
Matt Zwolinski and I have a friendly debate about several technical, foundational issues in Rand’s theory of rights: Can rights be based on egoism? What’s the connection between property rights and value creation? What counts as an improper initiation of force? Several other sub-issues about content and method arise along the way. In about 750 words each,
Zwolinski and Hicks on Rand and rights theory Read More »
I participated in a seminar on the Jones Act of 1920, with good presentations by Phil Magness, Woan Foong Wong, Ken Schoolland, Keli’i Akina, and others. The Jones Act requires that any cargo carried between two US ports be (a) carried only on US-built ships or barges that are (b) mostly manned by US citizens, and
The dead hand of the Jones Act of 1920 Read More »
About the following list of the top ten oil companies in the world, ask two questions: How many are government-owned and how many privately owned? and Of the privately owned, how many are highly regulated and how many operate in free markets? 1 Saudi Aramco 478.00 (evenue in year 2015) 2 Sinopec 455.499 3 China
The Biggest Oil Companies in the World Read More »
When I immigrated to the United States, the experience was not quite a nightmare but more like a series of bad dreams. I was from friendly Canada. I had a Ph.D. and a job offer from an American university. Yet the process—over several years—was a series of frustrations and indignities as I filled out dozens
The Limits of Open Immigration [Good Life series] Read More »
In my “Where are all those free-market economists who caused the financial crisis?”, I cited survey results showing that very few professional economists are deregulation advocates, and I cited data indicating an increase in regulation in the lead-up to the crisis. Here is Regdata’s more recent “Did Deregulation Cause the Financial Crisis? Examining a Common
Before the 2008 financial crisis: increasing or decreasing regulation? Read More »