 Yet Another Muslim Atrocity
by Andre Zantonavitch
What a way to go. Thoughts on the almost hopeless situation in Iraq. (Read more...)
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How to Go Green
by Tibor R. Machan
Some influential, even powerful, public policy pundits, like former VP Al Gore and columnist Thomas L. Friedman (of The World is Flat fame), have gone on a crusade to champion what they vaguely call "green." Among the measures they promote is high taxes on gasoline, so as to wean drivers from fossil fuel and encourage some alternatives like solar energy and wind. (Read more...)
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Adam Smith and Carl Menger: Value Additives with a Hint of Objectivity
by Scott W. Hitchens
Economics has been concerned throughout most of its history with the determination of the motivation of mankind. Economists argue that man is motivated by the promise of an incentive. Key to this incentive is the valuation of the gain that is expected. In order to properly explain how man values items, and thus expl... (Read more...)
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Bill Gates, Please Shut up Already
by Tibor R. Machan
No doubt he is a genius when it comes to software and innumerable gadgets and such; I am really pleased he got into computers big time. I certainly got a lot from that in my own line of work.
But Bill Gates really needs to shut about some other things he is confused about. Like his claim the other day, when he announced his impending retirement and turn to full time philanthropy, that he "needs to give back to the community." Why? Did he steal something from people? Did they lend him something he needs to return? What on earth was he talking about?
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Scope of Volition
by Merlin Jetton
This article is about different aspects of volition. (Read more...)
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MSNBC’s Propaganda News
by Tibor R. Machan
Here is what the "news" story on MSNBC’s Web site said on Monday morning, June 12th: (Read more...)
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Altruism's Bad Influence
by Tibor R. Machan
Putting it plainly, altruism is very popular, at least as far as what people verbally champion. It’s not so popular in action because, well, it is impossible to practice consistently. As the poet W. H. Auden put it, "We are here on earth to do good for others. What the others are here for, I don't know." (Read more...)
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Thomas Aquinas and Michael Novak: Two of a Kind
by Lindsey M. Peters
Thomas Aquinas is one of the most acclaimed philosophers and theologians of all time. His writings are concise and well-reasoned as he elaborates on Aristotle’s teachings. Michael Novak who incorporates both Aristotle and Aquinas into his teachings is arguably one of the best modern philosophers who persuasively reaso... (Read more...)
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Hobbes and Locke: A Confused Capitalist and His "Counterpoint"
by Darick J. Biondi
... (Read more...)
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Aristotle and Ayn Rand: Ancient Eudaimonia as Success versus Modern Eudaimonia as Survival
by Yvette A. Michaud
“My philosophy in essence is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity and reason as his only absolute.”
... (Read more...)
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The Enron Case in Focus
by Tibor R. Machan
After the jury came back with a guilty verdict against the two major players in the massive Enron fraud case, Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling, there could have been cheers going up around the country concerning how well justice is pursued in a relatively free market, capitalist society. For that is one of the major lessons here. (Read more...)
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Lao Tzu's Naturalistic Metaphysics, Ethics, and Politics
by Edward W. Younkins
Lao Tzu (Laozi), an older contemporary of Confucius, lived in the 6th century B.C., and is thought to be the founder of Taoism. The conjectured years of his life are 604-531 B.C. The legendary Taoist philosopher, whose name can be translated as the “Old Master,” wrote a manual of self-cultivation and governmen... (Read more...)
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Herbert Spencer on Liberty and Human Progress
by Edward W. Younkins
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), British philosopher and sociologist, was a prominent, late 19th century defender of individual freedom and critic of state violence and coercion. A Lamarckian, rather than a Darwinian, pioneer in evolutionary theory, Spencer believed in inevitable human progress that develops naturally when... (Read more...)
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Why Philosophy Matters
by Tibor R. Machan
So you think this column is motivated by my vested interest in having philosophy taken seriously? OK, that’s part of it. But then so what? Some things are in my interest and this alone would suffice to justify championing them. In this case there is also the fact that all of us have a stake in the issue at hand. (Read more...)
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Ayn Rand and Murray Rothbard: Can't We All Just Get Along?
by Shawn M. Stottlemyer
Many scholars who recognize that the Austrian School of Economics and the Philosophy of Objectivism have so many great things in common with one another have begun to build bridges between the two schools of thought. The similarities arise in their preferred outcomes of little or no government and the best way for society to operate economically and socially. Laissez-faire economics provides the best and only moral way for individual human beings to flourish in society. (Read more...)
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The Harms of Drugs versus the Harms of the War on Drugs
by G. Stolyarov II
Mr. Stolyarov has no sympathy for drug addicts; he morally disapproves of their behavior. However, the drug addicts would harm only themselves and willing associates were it not for the coercive illegalization of drugs. This essay argues the case of all those innocent, moral, productive individuals who are harmed by the government-waged War on Drugs. Compared to the damage the War on Drugs inflicts on good people, the harms from drug-taking itself are minimal. (Read more...)
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Michael Novak and Edward Younkins: Economic Personalism and Flourishing Indivdualism
by Retta Jane Rico
Dr. Edward W. Younkins and Michael Novak are both well educated in philosophy and economics. They seem to have similar conclusions, but adopt different methods or premises to reach a free society. The biggest of these differences would lie in whether or not faith should be foundational to our political and econo... (Read more...)
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What’s a Self-Made Individual?
by Tibor R. Machan
Whenever erudite critics of America’s social and political philosophy wish to make fun of it all, they mention the "self-made individual" (or, in older terminology, "man"). Recently one such critic recalled some quip that said, "How many people does it take to make a self-made man?" The point being, self-made individuals do not exist at all, everyone, in fact, develops by relying on innumerable others. (Read more...)
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Why Public Utility Monopolies Fail
by G. Stolyarov II
Mr. Stolyarov uses Friedrich Hayek's insights on the dynamic, discovery-oriented nature of the market process to show why "public" utility monopolies—which inherently inhibit such a process—are bound to experience waste, inefficiency, and failure unless privatized. (Read more...)
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Reality, Sensation, Reason, and Knowledge
by Andre Zantonavitch
How comprehensible is the universe, how reliable is our understanding of it, and how do we know what we know? Some non-technical speculations on epistemology. (Read more...)
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Do "liberals" Care for Liberty?
by Tibor R. Machan
I assume most of those who read this column have heard modern liberals proclaim their the deep concern civil liberties and due process. Among them many tell us they are upset about how President George W. Bush and most of those on his team are willing to sacrifice these so as to carry on with "the war on terror." (Read more...)
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Galbraith's Obit Distortions
by Tibor R. Machan
Not even the obituaries can be trusted now. Having been told of the death of John Kenneth Galbraith, the famed socialist economist—who taught at Harvard University for most of his life and was once John Kennedy’s ambassador to India—I read his obituary in The New York Times (both print and on line) and on several Web s... (Read more...)
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Spinoza on Freedom, Ethics, and Politics
by Edward W. Younkins
If one mentions the name Spinoza, he is likely to get a response something like “Oh, wasn’t he the pantheist philosopher who lived around the time of Hobbes and Locke?” Of course, he was but he was also much more than that. Baruch (Benedict de) Spinoza (1632-1677) promulgated a deductive, rational and monist philosophy... (Read more...)
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The Target: Objectivity
by Tibor R. Machan
No one in his right mind thinks that objectivity is easy. It’s especially hard when it comes to self-assessment. (Read more...)
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Open vs. Closed
by Andre Zantonavitch
Is the philosophy of Objectivism an "open system" or a "closed system" of thought? A new view. (Read more...)
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