 Machan's Musings - Distrust of our Minds Indicts Democracy
by Tibor R. Machan
The possibility for objectivity, while not guaranteeing that we will always get things right, is a bulwark against those who would deny our rights and proceed to rule the rest of us properly, as they believe only they can. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Selfishness the Right Way
by Tibor R. Machan
This rampant and wild altruism peddled by contemporary moral philosophers at some of the most highly regarded departments of philosophy is nonsense. One can only hope students encountering the pitch don’t live a life of endless and utter guilt and have the good sense to think matters through for themselves. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Journalism vs Business
by Tibor R. Machan
We should not assume that government is populated by saints who should be entrusted to be the armed guardians of us all. (Read more...)
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Tuesday
September 28, 2004 |
Machan's Musings - Methinks Thou Dost Protest Too Much
by Tibor R. Machan
Communitarians clearly de-emphasize individual rights and stress community interests above all. And that is a bad idea that tends strongly to lead to the rule of elites. (Read more...)
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Saturday
September 25, 2004 |
Machan's Musings - The New Republic's Anti-Capitalism?
by Tibor R. Machan
I don’t read minds well, especially from afar, but I guess we have here another instance of someone trying to belittle capitalism, making it look like it’s just some kind of irrational, random, helter-skelter phenomenon no one should take terribly seriously. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
September 22, 2004 |
Machan's Musings - Coercion: A Bad Thing All Round?
by Tibor R. Machan
A dispute among those who favor the free society concerns whether the merits of that society need to be demonstrated over and over again, in each instance of proposed coercion. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Topsy-turvy Anyone?
by Tibor R. Machan
Perhaps it is important to take a different measure of the premier institutions from what convention would have us do. Say, a ranking of universities in US News & World Report may well have to be looked at almost topsy-turvy rather than at face value. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
September 15, 2004 |
Machan's Musings - Trying To Have That Cake And Eat It Too
by Tibor R. Machan
Since the government has practically annexed everything owned by us that some sizable constituency is interested in, it is now imposing its various wishes and whims on how these things must be handled. (Read more...)
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Thursday
September 9, 2004 |
Machan's Musings-On Gouging
by Tibor R. Machan
During most emergencies there are those who could certainly use quite a bit of help, and it is on such occasions that complaints about gouging surface most vociferously. The recent tropical storms and hurricanes in the Southeast saw many people having to board up their homes and businesses and evacuate the area for safer regions. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Is Libertarianism Simplistic?
by Tibor R. Machan
All areas of interest to us in the world can be subsumed under fairly simple principles, but it is also quite clear that this doesn’t mean these principles are simplistic. That would involve denying the nuances and challenges that come very naturally whenever principles are being used to figure things out, to guide our conduct. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Politicians Cannot Make Jobs
by Tibor R. Machan
President Bush made one good point, at least, in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in New York City. This was that all he could do to help with job-creation is to remove obstacles to it. (Read more...)
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Thursday
September 2, 2004 |
Machan's Musings - Business & Government: A Perverse Union
by Tibor R. Machan
When the government is assigned the job by means of the political process to regulate industry, industry will naturally defend itself by the same means. All those lobbyists are merely voicing grievances, as per our Constitution, to politicians. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
September 1, 2004 |
Machan's Musings - The Nonsense of "Social Wealth"
by Tibor R. Machan
Although it is often the case that human actions and institutions significantly rearrange the world, there is, in fact, an arrangement that’s natural prior to this (history of) rearrangement. It’s a bit like all that body surgery that goes on in Hollywood and elsewhere — the significantly rearranged faces, breasts, lips, and such had, at one time, a non-artificial or "natural" configuration, for good or for ill. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Stakeholder Nonsense
by Tibor R. Machan
Some advocates of the stake-holder theory, even some free market champions, want it only to put people like those who own the gym on notice that they ought to keep in mind the side-effects of their business decisions. But this is definitely the minority. Those who invented the theory meant, without a doubt, to have the idea be enforced by law, not leave it merely to the good will of the major business involved. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Environmental Extremism
by Tibor R. Machan
It is really outrageous ... that those who defend human habitation in these areas are dismissed as nothing but crass profiteers, as if building homes for people were not every bit as honorable a task as giving them an education, providing for their medical care, or helping them to find good vacation spots. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings: Lapham's Real Blooper
by Tibor R. Machan
They have no fondness, as a party, for the free market — it is certainly not their "answer to every maiden’s prayer." Very far from it, what with their advocacy of farm subsidies, price support, and innumerable protectionist measures, not to mention their belief that government ought to get into the prescription drug and related businesses. You name it, and the Republicans have completely embraced the welfare state, as part of their compassionate conservatism. (Read more...)
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The Olympics: Globalisation Galore!
by Tibor R. Machan
Anyone who thinks globalization is some novel phenomenon in the world only needs to check in on the Olympic Games—indeed, think back to them in ancient and modern times, to realize how wrong is that idea. (Read more...)
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A Book Endorsement
by Tibor R. Machan
Professor Hicks has written a sweeping yet very readable explanation of why contemporary intellectuals embrace postmodernism. This is the position widely championed in academic circles - from philosophy, literature, law and the social sciences - that holds that there is no truth, no reality, no clear meaning, no understanding and, most of all, no value in relying on human reason for any purpose whatsoever. (Read more...)
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The Puzzle Of The Fourth
by Tibor R. Machan
When a society, supposedly founded on the idea that our basic individual rights are unalienable - incapable of being lost and obligatory for all to respect - is being "educated" mostly by people at all levels who reject those very same ideas, is it any wonder that all that the Fourth of July has become is an occasion for empty gesture and meaningless fanfare? (Read more...)
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Politicians Shouldn't Come First
by Tibor R. Machan
Why are our dollar bills and coins adorned by the faces of politicians? Most of these folks knew only how to spend money, not how to create goods and services for which money is supposed to stand. Let's put some ionventors, merchants, artist and scientists there to remind ourselves who really makes the world go around. (Read more...)
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Reagan's Ideas Still Rankle
by Tibor R. Machan
When Reagan reminded Americans that they need to recover the notion of individual responsibility, he wasn’t producing a doctoral dissertation about free will versus determinism or about moral choice and responsibility. He was issuing a succinct reminder, that’s all. And when one does this, one necessarily simplifies. (Read more...)
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 RIP, President Reagan
by Tibor R. Machan
It is sad that we probably will not see a principled guy in - or even near - the White House like Ronald Reagan. Whatever his imperfections, he was the greatest political friend of liberty of our time. (Read more...)
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Liberty and Wealth
by Tibor R. Machan
Perhaps the ulterior motive behind criticizing libertarians for helping along the pursuit of wealth should be examined — it may well be wishing to control people, coerce them to support what the critic likes instead of what the wealthy person likes. (Read more...)
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Reflections on Prison Abuse
by Tibor R. Machan
Once again it seems to me those who are jumping all over the Pentagon and the Bush team are more interested in "gotcha" than in actually remedying matters. (Read more...)
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My Ex-Pakistani Cabby
by Tibor R. Machan
Sure, this country has never quite lived up to its reputation to be free, to respect and protect everyone’s rights. But it still has the reputation of doing that more so than other countries. The momentum hasn’t died completely, even if America’s politicians and intellectuals care little about the ideals the country is famous for. (Read more...)
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