 The Desperate Defense of Obamacare
by Tibor R. Machan
The political arena has abandoned all civility, it seems. It was coming our way once folks like Ralph Nader and Michael Moore got to be big wigs, speaking up in support of populism and a massive federal government. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (6 messages)
Keynes and his Ideology of Planning
by Tibor R. Machan
What Keynes was eager to promote is the idea of the government's
unbridled authority to tinker with economic affairs. That is the point of
insisting so vehemently that nothing exists that stands opposed to that
authority, no notion of Adam Smith's natural liberty, John Locke's natural
rights, and other classical liberal ideas that were at one time beginning
to be used so as to pull the rug from under those who saw fit to interfere
with other people's economic decisions and circumstances. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (10 messages)
BANK FAILURES: Market Failure or Government Failure
by William Scott Dwyer
Many banks have failed under government control of the financial system, but wasn't it worse under free banking in which there was no lender of last resort and no federal insurance of depositors' funds in the event of bank failures? The following article examines this question in light of the historical evidence. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (20 messages)
Tuesday
September 22, 2009 |
Objectivism and charity
by Jim Henshaw
Discussion of Objectivist principles regarding "compassionate" release of convicted criminals with terminal illnesses, and regarding when charity is justified and non-sacrificial. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (8 messages)
Saturday
September 19, 2009 |
The Expanding Public Realm
by Tibor R. Machan
Virtually every time someone promotes increasing the scope of government's
involvement in our lives, the excuse is that the problem being tackled is
a social or public type, not one of individuals. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (2 messages)
Tuesday
September 15, 2009 |
If I Owned A Chain of A Thousand Hospitals
by Tyson Russell
I've written two bullet points on things I would do if I owned a chain of a thousand hospitals. The point is to add your own in the comments and in so doing illustrate what Randians/Objectivists/Libertarians/Minarchists envision for a health care system absent of government interference. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (14 messages)
Is Fear of Our Government Rational?
by Tibor R. Machan
When society is considered a collective--akin to a team, only not
voluntarily established like most sport teams are--those who see
themselves as its leaders and charged with selecting the goals everyone
must pursue, can quite easily slip into a mode of thinking that construes
all opposition a form of betrayal. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (20 messages)
Of Hammers and Health Care: Understanding the Nature of Rights
by Richard Gleaves
Once Upon a Time, America reached a fork in the road.... Franklin D. Roosevelt “The Economic Bill of Rights” Excerpt from 11 January 1944 message to Congress on the State of the Union It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the e... (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (3 messages)
The Folly of Workplace Regulations
by William Scott Dwyer
Workplace regulations do more harm than good, contrary to the claims of government regulators. They create unemployment and interfere with the free choices of workers and business. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (21 messages)
Is It All Luck?
by Tibor R. Machan
Well, much may be luck or its absence but much also isn't. This is a case
of what I called in one of my early books, The Pseudo-Science of B. F.
Skinner (1973), the blow up fallacy. It involves taking a picture--i. e.,
considering--some small portion of the world or life and seeing it quite
clearly but then making the leap of applying it to everything. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (0 messages)
The Navigation System - A Parable
by Richard Gleaves
Philosophy as Guidance (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (0 messages)
Yes, Roger Federer is Human
by Tibor R. Machan
No, there is no way to engineer human beings to be excellent. This is
precisely what makes them so human--however they turn out is to a large
measure their own doing, following their beliefs and choices. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (8 messages)
On Passing Judgment: Politics versus Etiquette
by Ted Keer
From Ayn Rand's break with the Brandens to the current fiasco over James Valliant's banning at Wikipedia, Objectivists have taken sides and demanded that sides be taken. Is this the best policy in all cases? (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (16 messages)
Hope versus Reality
by Tibor R. Machan
One main reason that bureaucracies are generally sluggish and unenthusiastic
about serving the public--as distinct from private vendors--is this
element of constant competition, combined with the fact that bureaucrats
gain their income from taxes which can often be raised with impunity by
those who hire them. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (19 messages)
OBAMA: HONORING THE DEAD AND DISRUPTING THE LIVING
by Alexandra York
I wonder: How many times did they dine in the city of Paris and visit Notre Dame (a top tourist attraction even for young neophytes) in private life, as do most people who are genuinely interested in learning about and experiencing other cultures on their own initiative and acquiring the attendant sophistication of worldly and historical knowledge? (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (22 messages)
The Parable of the Empty Throne - a warning for Democrats
by Richard Gleaves
The best intentions can still sow the seed of dictatorship. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (2 messages)
Mini Business Ethics & Freedom
by Tibor R. Machan
Freedom does not promise perfection by a long shot. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (27 messages)
Catering to Altruists
by Tibor R. Machan
It is pathetic how perverse an idea of political leadership guides this
new president. He should back off already. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (2 messages)
The Primary-Secondary Quality Distinction
by Merlin Jetton
Commentary on the primary-secondary quality distinction. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (59 messages)
Do All of us Expect to be Millionaires?
by Tibor R. Machan
Sunday is the day when even profit making broadcasters must do service or
pro bono work. And this mostly consists of broadcasting programs
misleadingly labeled "public affairs." (I say this because none of these
programs is actually about what matters to everyone, to the public, but
only to one or another special interest group and, mostly to bureaucrats
and their groupies.)
(Read more...)
Discuss this Article (26 messages)
Dinner at the White House - a parable
by Richard Gleaves
Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a... (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (18 messages)
Guaranteed Health Care?
by Tibor R. Machan
Why is it taken to be a palatable notion that people should get their
health care guaranteed? Of course, there are other services that are
treated as if people had a basic right to them, such as primary and
secondary education. But then there are many services people want, even
need, that few would regard as due people as a guarantee. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (10 messages)
Eden is an Illusion
by G. Stolyarov II
Beyond being destructive, the Eden myth is simply false. There never was a "better" state from which human beings have "descended." Mr. Stolyarov explores why the Fall is an illusion that ought to be abandoned. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (1 message)
What Does It Mean to Be Educated?
by Luke Setzer
This article, spiced with a healthy dash of rant, explores the meaning and purpose of education and how one should shape one's soul using that tool. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (25 messages)
What is Fascism?
by Tibor R. Machan
So not long ago I penned a column in which I identified the economic
policies of the Obama administration's so far as fascist! In it I said
"Fascism is a political system in which a country is lead by a charismatic
leader who has full power to order things about because he (or she) is
taken to know best." (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (3 messages)
|
