Now that we are solidly into Stage 3 … Stage 1 (early 20th century): Socialism is really true and moral and liberal capitalism is evil. [The evidence comes in. Shit.] Stage 2 (late 20th century): Evidence and logic are subjective constructs and all alternative constructs are equal. [Liberal-capitalist constructs continue to appeal to many people. […]
The Three Stages of Far-Left Advocacy (sarcastic version) Read More »
[This is a Portuguese translation of Part 6 of the Theist vs. Atheist debate series between Stephen Hicks and John Wright, originally published in English at EveryJoe.] A religião é boa ou má para a política? Por John C. Wright Tradução de Matheus Pacini Revisão de Mateus Bernardino A questão dessa semana é se a
British P.M. Theresa May is another Third Way politician in the tradition of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. From her speech: “Government can and should be a force for good; the state exists to provide what individual people, communities and markets cannot; we should employ the power of government for the good of the people.
Theresa May as Third Way politician Read More »
João Carlos Espada of the Catholic University of Portugal in Lisbon has a new book out: The Anglo-American Tradition of Liberty: A View from Europe. The title suggests a distance between Europe and liberal ideas and institutions as they developed in the Anglo tradition. Here’s the book’s description: “Joao Carlos Espada’s provocative survey of a
Espada on Anglo liberalism, a European perspective Read More »
Some parts of the world really are environmental Hells. They are dirty and depleted, making them unhealthy and economically unsustainable. We can argue about the severity of various places’ problems, but I want to focus on another aspect of the debate: determining accurately the causes of the degradation so we can focus productively on finding
Blamestorming and Environmental Problems (Part I) [Good Life series] Read More »
Bad things happen in free markets. Some people lie, cut corners, commit fraud, and write bad checks. Others renege on contracts, offer or accept bribes, give kickbacks, embezzle, and more. Often this translates into an argument for government regulation. Free markets maximize liberty, the argument runs, so they give much more scope to immoral individuals,
Corruption—Is It Worse in Free or Government-Regulated Markets? [Good Life series] Read More »
In our era of Keynesian economics on steroids, we should ask: How close is current Keyesnian practice to original Keynesian theory? John Maynard Keynes‘s main claim to fame is his advocacy of deficit spending as a tool of economic recovery. In a depressed economy, the argument runs, the government should spend money it doesn’t have.
Can We Blame Keynes for Keynesianism? [Good Life series] Read More »
German authorities will allow the republication of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, after decades of censorship. Decent people can argue that the book is too dangerous to be published. But the fact is that Mein Kampf is too dangerous not to be published. The great fear is that Hitler’s ideas are not dead and that his
Is Republishing Hitler’s Mein Kampf the Correct Decision? [Good Life series] Read More »