From the monthly archives: November 2011

Dear Left: Corporatism Is Your Fault

By On November 29, 2011 · 192 Comments · In Current Events, Democracy, Exploitation, Liberalism

I’m not usually one for polemics. But sometimes polemics is called for. Here goes.

Dear members of the moderate left,

America is suffering from rampant, run-away corporatism and crony capitalism. We are increasingly a plutocracy in which government serves the interests of elite financiers and CEOs at the expense of everyone else.

You know this [...]

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Tuesday Links

By On November 22, 2011 · 4 Comments · In Current Events

Over at Libertarianism.org, Miles Pope has an ongoing series of blog posts on Jan Narveson’s unjustly neglected classic of contemporary libertarian thought – The Libertarian Idea.  Also on that site and well-worth following is George H. Smith’s Excursions series.  His latest post explores the philosophy [...]

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More on Talents

By On November 19, 2011 · 22 Comments · In Academic Philosophy, Book/Article Reviews, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Liberty, Social Justice

This post is a continuation of the long and rich conversation generated by my previous post.  Some of the comments below reiterate, perhaps less artfully, some of the points already made.

I agree with Rawls’s defenders that by asserting that “society owns talents“ he does not, and could not, mean that the state can force [...]

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A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought – Herbert Spencer

By On November 16, 2011 · 33 Comments · In A Bleeding Heart History of Libertarian Thought, Academic Philosophy, Libertarianism, Social Justice

If you’re like most people, then the one thing you probably think you know about Herbert Spencer is that he was a “Social Darwinist.”  And that one thing is wrong.

Libertarians like George Smith and Roderick Long (over and over again) have long defended [...]

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Linda Alcoff Should Resign as Vice President and President-Elect of the APA

By On November 14, 2011 · Leave a Comment · In Academic Philosophy, Current Events

UPDATE: An anonymous poster (I’m pretty sure I know who) wrote a comment accusing certain people of conspiring to destroy Oregon philosophy out of spite and personal grudges. The post was defamatory. I’m disabling comments on this topic now.

 

The climate for women in philosophy could and should be much better. Reading What [...]

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Webinar on “Libertarianism and the Left”

By On November 14, 2011 · 8 Comments · In Current Events, Libertarianism

This Wednesday,  I’ll be giving a web-based lecture to Students for Liberty on the topic of “Libertarianism and the Left.”  The talk is aimed at an audience of college-aged, libertarian activists, but registration is open to everyone.  You can get more information and a link to register here.

The talk itself will [...]

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A Premise Questioned

By On November 13, 2011 · 79 Comments · In Academic Philosophy, Book/Article Reviews, Left-libertarianism, Libertarianism, Rights Theory, Social Justice

I haven’t been posting lately because I’ve been working on topics not directly related to the theme of the blog.

I am reading G.A. Cohen’s Rescuing Justice and Equality. It is, like everything Jerry wrote, stimulating, original, and clever. The main claim in the book is that the Rawlsian argument for the [...]

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Free Money for Grad Students

By On November 10, 2011 · 4 Comments · In Current Events

Are you a current or prospective graduate student with an interest in classical liberal / libertarian ideas?  If so, consider applying for a Humane Studies Fellowship.

Awards between $2,000 and $15,000 Open to full-time and prospective graduate students, including MBA and law students Winners get access to a number of invitation-only programs [...]

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Sweatshops, Exploitation, and Neglect

By On November 8, 2011 · 18 Comments · In Current Events, Exploitation, Social Justice

Ari Kohen responds to my recent post on sweatshops with a few lingering concerns.  Among other things, he raises important questions about whether the evils of sweatshop labor can be compensated for by increased charitable giving, and about whether we shouldn’t recognize that American companies have [...]

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Helping the Poor: Sacrifice, Intentions, and Outcomes

By On November 3, 2011 · 39 Comments · In Consequentialism, Exploitation, Social Justice

My friend David Sobel argues that even if sweatshops are benefiting the global poor, this doesn’t mean that they are fulfilling whatever obligations they might have to aid the less fortunate:

This activity on the part of corporations, I think it safe to assume, is motivated purely by economic self-interest on the part of the corporation. [...]

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