From the monthly archives: June 2011
I’ve been taking part in facebook debates about the (dishonest and not very bright) Stephen Metcalf article in Slate that is nominally about Robert Nozick, while vaguely planning out how to write about it on the blog. While I still plan that, here’s a link to a fantastic Julian Sanchez post that’s of [...]
Obama tries cracking down on leaks. Why is the need for government transparency usually ignored today? Granted some need for military secrets (for the sake of argument and to step away from the Times piece), it still seems to me that we don’t pay nearly enough attention to it. My guess is that [...]
I’m reading Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I had never read anything by her. The references I had were mixed: praise by some libertarians; condemnation by others; Nozick’s piece “On the Randian Argument.” I appreciate novels for their literary value, regardless of the political message, if any, that the novel may try to convey. Thus, I [...]
Interesting article in the NY Times about the so-called “argumentative theory of reasoning.” The claim, in a nutshell, seems to be that reason developed evolutionarily in order to allow us to win arguments (get people to do what we want, etc.). I’m frankly not sure what would even count as evidence for such [...]
I think James did an excellent job here dealing with controversy about the Koch’s and have little to add. But today I saw this on Huffington Post, of all places. It supports my view that the Koch’s are genuinely pro-free-trade. Be sure to read the letter at the end!
Prison Break
By Roderick Long On June 8, 2011 · 34 Comments · In Academic Philosophy, Left-libertarianism, Rights Theory
Fernando suggests (below) that rather than complaining that “the incarceration rate in America is too high,” we should complain instead that “America punishes innocent persons” (e.g. drug users).
Certainly the incarceration of people who have violated no rights is an important part of America’s prison problem. But I don’t think that covers all [...]
Judging States
By Andrew Cohen On June 8, 2011 · 76 Comments · In Left-libertarianism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Liberty, Social Justice, Toleration
One way to define liberalism, as I have previously indicated here is by reference to the normative principles of toleration it is committed to (as I suggested in that previous post). I think that such a definition also allows a clear way to judge states. Let me spell out what I mean.
I [...]
Like many others, I am alarmed at the rate of incarceration in the United States (Reason magazine has devoted a whole issue to the problem). I also agree that the main policy responsible for this is the infamous “war” on drugs. However, I’d like to raise a conceptual puzzle. Surely the reason why [...]
Which is Worse: A Sweatshop, or You?
By Matt Zwolinski On June 6, 2011 · 113 Comments · In Academic Philosophy, Exploitation, Social Justice
People say that sweatshops exploit their workers. People say the same thing about men who hire prostitutes, price gougers, couples who enter commercial surrogacy contracts, payday loan operations, and people who buy kidneys from the poor (or would do so if it were legal).
Exploitation, as we’ve discussed here before, [...]
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