Empire of Cotton

My review of Sven Beckert’s economic history Empire of Cotton is now up at Reason. I’m more critical than most reviewers have been, but I think it’s an impressive and…

The UBI in Non-Ideal Theory and Ideal Theory

Phil Magness has complained, at length, on Facebook that proponents of a universal basic income (UBI) like myself have failed to grasp with various “public choice” problems that would surely…

Hobbits, Hooligans, and Vulcans

The Princeton University Press blog wrote an independent post on my forthcoming book Against Democracy. They provide a brief overview of the three major types of democratic citizens I discuss, which…

Religious Toleration Generalized: A Quick Case for Public Reason Liberalism

I’m busy writing a book defending public reason liberalism, which explains my blogging hiatus. J can blog and write books at the same time; that has proven hard for me. So I’ll…

Democratic Ignorance, Elitism, and How I’m a Populist

Chapter 2 of Against Democracy is titled “Ignorant, Irrational, Misinformed Nationalists.” It argues that voters are…well, go ahead and guess. There are a huge range of studies on voter behavior. These…

July 11, 2016

Is Belief In the Moral Parity Thesis Dangerous? (Probably Not. But Even If So, So What?)

Suppose that I come to believe, stupidly, that taking caffeine is dangerous. I announce henceforth that I will lock any people I catch drinking coffee in my basement for 30…

July 25, 2016