Wednesday
January 29, 2014 |
 The Worst of the State of the Union Address
by Tibor R. Machan
As far as I can tell, the worst idea in President Obama’s 2014 State of the Union address went like this: "That's what most Americans want -- for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations." Dead wrong! (Read more...)
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Wednesday
December 18, 2013 |
Good Samaritanism must be voluntary
by Tibor R. Machan
Should bystanders be forced to help out or give evidence to the authorities? (Read more...)
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Democracy and Gay Marriages
by Tibor R. Machan
Marriages ought to be a matter of contract and not based on any myth or superstition. Folks should not be interfered with if they want to form a family union, however it is configured, so long as it isn’t some kind of criminal gang. (Read more...)
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A Precis on Humanism
by Tibor R. Machan
A humanist argues, not unlike Socrates did, that ethics or morality rests on an understanding of human nature. (Read more...)
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My I told you so world.
by Tibor R. Machan
My own special area of concern has been government regulation, that insidious practice of meddling with people’s lives on innumerable fronts, and I have been watching just how addicted some leaders and public philosophers are to the idea. (Read more...)
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A Precis on Public Finance
by Tibor R. Machan
In a free country public finance pertains to how the proper tasks of government must be funded. (Read more...)
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Metaethical Foibles at Work
by Tibor R. Machan
The quality of political discourse has indeed been deteriorating big time. Ad hominems are now the rule, not the exception. It is distressing that substantive criticism of the ideas and policy recommendations of the two major parties has nearly vanished. Even though put downs and quips are often clever, it would be so ... (Read more...)
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Once Again, Freedom is at Fault
by Tibor R. Machan
"The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance." (Read more...)
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Some Pros and Cons of a Syrian Attack
by Tibor R. Machan
Why should one powerful nation attack another that is following intolerable policies -- e.g., gas its own citizens? Some argue that this is because when others act violently toward innocent people, those who can prevent this from happening have an obligation to step in and help out. We are, as Mr. Obama put it not long ago, “all in the same boat!” (Read more...)
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Involuntary Servitude
by Tibor R. Machan
It is especially difficult to suppress my outrage at the fact that some of my colleagues in political philosophy hold views that literally consign my grandchildren into involuntary servitude without paying any heed to their own choices in the matter. (Read more...)
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 Governor Christie’s Demagoguery
by Tibor R. Machan
In his put down of Senator Rand Paul for the latter’s defense of limited governmental powers in foreign policies, Governor Chris Christie has not produced arguments but engaged in demagoguery. Bringing up the grieving of relatives of 9/11 victims amounts to just that. (Read more...)
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Shopping in communism versus capitalism
by Tibor R. Machan
In a narrative portion of his latest (and characteristically riveting) novel the author has written the following sentence that prompts me to wag my finger at him a bit. “Now it was a Western-style shopping mall stuffed with all the useless trinkets capitalism had to offer...” Daniel Silva, The English Girl (2013). (Read more...)
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Too Many Un-American Americans
by Tibor R. Machan
Let us remember a simple yet revolutionary idea associated with America, indeed one that has made the country exceptional among all major and minor political associations. This is the basic, natural right to individual liberty! (Read more...)
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Without a proper plan
by Tibor R. Machan
The realm of the private is far broader in a free society than most people realize, so private choices and preferences have a greater scope. Which can be a very benign influence over the society as well as introduce some not very admirable ones. This, however, is the implication of taking the right to liberty really seriously instead of cherry picking liberties that one likes and are uncontroversial. (Read more...)
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Machan's Archives - Fourth of July Reflections
by Tibor R. Machan
For some people the Fourth of July is the most important holiday in America. Sadly, not for all, especially not just now when most of the leadership of the country has made it clear that principles do not matter. What matters is what is expedient or practical, which is something very unstable. (Read more...)
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 Ethnicity is Obsolete
by Tibor R. Machan
In the United States of America ethnic distinctions are especially impossible to maintain with a straight face. Who are the Native Americans? The blacks? The whites? The Hispanics? These are entirely accidental categories, having to do with attributes that hardly remain stable over the lives of individuals, let alone across generations. (Read more...)
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 Thank you Scientists and Technologists
by Tibor R. Machan
There is so much that scientists have discovered that makes our lives rich and rewarding that it may seem pointless to call attention to it all. But I am very fond of the saying, “Notice the good and praise it,” over and over again. (Read more...)
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The Evil of Prior Restraint
by Tibor R. Machan
NSA’s excuse for snooping on innocent citizens -- namely, that it can prevent serious harm to us, might even save lives -- is spurious. If you incarcerated us all, that, too, might do all that. (Read more...)
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My Pleasures, My Vices
by Tibor R. Machan
I am not in the habit of airing my dirty laundry, so this will be a rare case. I feel the urge to confess that I have some guilty pleasures, ones that actually have political implications. (Read more...)
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 Barbaric Conduct in London
by Tibor R. Machan
The apparent murderer in London declared on a video that "The only reasons we killed this man ... is because Muslims are dying daily," he said in video aired by CNN affiliate ITN. (Read more...)
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Back to Basics Please
by Tibor R. Machan
The idea that occurs to me when confronted with the mess is that those who have even the mildest concern for rhyme and reason should press the Obama people on one central topic: Do the rights of individuals concern this government in the slightest? (Read more...)
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More Environmentalist Confusions
by Tibor R. Machan
The New York Observer reported in its April 15, 2013, issue (B 1) that Leonardo DiCaprio is teaming up with Christie’s in New York City, to hold a “major philanthropic auction.” I am not interested in the details, which appear to me a kind of kiss up to fellow celebrities on the political/cultural Left. But the following statement from the actor is quite instructive: (Read more...)
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No Difference in Ideology & Values
by Tibor R. Machan
When you consider what is the difference between the ideology of North Korea and that of the U. S. A., it is difficult to say. In practical terms, of course, the U.S.A. is still largely individualistic but our leaders, especially President Obama, embrace a rhetoric that stresses togetherness, “everyone being in the same boat,” etc. In short, America’s current administration has an ideology that is very close to what guides the North Korean communist government. (Read more...)
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 The Corruption of Individual Rights
by Tibor R. Machan
Whenever a good idea surfaces, there will surely be many who will try to hitch their wagon to it filled with corrupt versions that aim to serve numerous purposes having little to do with the original good idea. One example is the idea of individual natural human rights. (Read more...)
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Revisiting Our Basic Rights
by Tibor R. Machan
Professor Lynn Hunt’s recently published book on rights, titled Inventing Human Rights, is filled with a great deal of very useful important information about the emergence of the idea of basic human, individual rights, but it also perpetuates, perhaps entirely unconsciously, a very serious and hazardous error. (Read more...)
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