Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in Classical Liberalism, If I Really Hated the Poor ... on Oct 24th, 2017
I have this really uneasy feeling these days. That uneasy feeling is coming from the people who are trying to convince me that one of the more serious existential threats we face is the possibility of dangerous, runaway AI. I get it, I do. We were having a discussion of Asimov’s i,Robot the other day. […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Aug 9th, 2017
A particularly thorny philosophical problem for limited government classical liberal types is that while they want to see voluntary exchanges and private property governing as many human interactions as is “reasonable”, they typically leave it to the state to defend property rights and handle contracting disputes and third party spillovers. You can see the problem […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Disingenuous, Education, If I Really Hated the Poor ..., Innovation, Special Privilege, Tribalism on Mar 5th, 2017
Well, I can’t talk about it. But let me suggest one or two things to keep in mind. I feel like some part of the campus conservative movement is, itself, to blame for this. I know, I sound like blaming the victim, but my sense is that they are inviting controversial speakers to campus not […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Special Privilege on Apr 27th, 2016
Perhaps the least appreciated idea in the western world today is the importance of shame. When I get my act together, I hope to begin a series on the topic. In a world populated with opportunism, and in a world where it seems a not insignificant portion of support for government is thinly veiled attempt […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, ethical foundations, Extended Order, Methodology on Apr 4th, 2016
In my readings on political philosophy, even the most hard-core socialists, from the state-ownership clan to the anarcho-syndicalist-socialist clan seem to accede the fact that capitalism is “second best.” In other words, they craft a utopian vision for what a socialist world could look like, but since people are crooked, selfish, etc. then we must […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism on Mar 11th, 2016
Read this short post from Arnold Kling. He is spot on. I have not seen “classical liberals” make any dent toward raising the status and thinking about market oriented principles. All of the influence that the classical liberals have had has been on the social side of things. Not that this is all bad, it […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Economic Illiteracy, ethical foundations, Extended Order, Government Thuggery, History, Immigration, Inequality, Institutions, media, Politics on Nov 24th, 2015
Of course, I will not share my thoughts at Thanksgiving … but here goes (start at 1:14 if you don’t like stories. One reason I love folk music is the stories): Please do NOT interpret this to suggest that I think this is an open and shut issue, or that there are not legitimate questions […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism on May 8th, 2015
Bryan Caplan has a terrific post on common ridicules against classically-liberally-ish type people. Do read it in full. Before I excerpt some of it, a couple of points. Arguments by “opponents of freedom” (that’s not a good characterization) often look like this, “You only think that because you are in the libertarian tribe.” This, by […]
Posted in Central Planning, Classical Liberalism, ethical foundations, Extended Order, Methodology on Apr 25th, 2015
Here is a good summary of the modern challenges facing philanthropists. Back when we had our student group this would have been a great topic for discussion. Aside from the obvious Hayekian concerns about knowledge and planning, the philosophical question of whether unborn future people can and should have a claim on us is difficult. […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism on Apr 24th, 2015
Via Alex Tabarrok: Reason can say no to the Hostess Twinkie but it has no counter to the gun and concentration camp.
