March 31, 2011
Discerning Desert
Since my last post on the subject, Bryan Caplan has put up two very interesting posts over at EconLog about the distinction between the deserving and undeserving poor. The issue…
Author: Matt Zwolinski
March 30, 2011
What is Social Justice?
In a few of my early posts on this blog, I claimed that libertarianism is compatible with a commitment to some kind of social justice. But I was deliberately vague about just…
March 24, 2011
Justice, Disagreement, and Legitimacy
Here is a thought experiment. It’s intended especially for libertarians, and even more so for natural rights libertarians of the Lockean/Nozickian/Rothbardian sort. But the rest of you should feel free…
March 23, 2011
Against Idealism
Most people assume that political idealism is a virtue. We encourage the young to be idealistic, to believe in the essential goodness of human nature. Above all, we admire those…
March 23, 2011
Mass Incarceration and the “Myth” of Free Markets?
I’d be curious to hear what readers of this blog think about this talk by Bernard Harcourt on "The Illusion of Free Markets: Laissez faire and Mass Incarceration.” The talk…
March 20, 2011
Symbolic Politics and Fiscal Conservatism
Here's a bit of symbolic politics from the right. The US debt is a problem. (So far, so good). So how do we combat it? Cut funding to NPR! Meanwhile,…