 Epicurus on Freedom and Happiness
by Edward W. Younkins
Epicurus (341-270 BC), a major philosopher of the Hellenistic period, largely relied upon Democritus for his materialistic and atomistic theory of nature. However, he does modify Democritus’ metaphysics because of its skeptical and deterministic implications. Epicurus founded his physics based upon Democritus but disco... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
January 11, 2006 |
Indians and Finance Reform
by Robert Davison (Wolf)
By now, it should be apparent, to one and to all, that ‘patching’ Senate rules will not mend the fabric of the republic. Because Senators are elected they advocate, not what is moral or what is best, but for that which will get them elected; and once elected they spend most of their time fund-raising and campaigning to be reelected. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
January 11, 2006 |
Machan's Musings - Don’t Export America’s Failed War on Poverty
by Tibor R. Machan
Only one thing stops poverty. It’s wealth. And there is but one sure fire way to gain wealth. Work. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Woody Allen the Subversive
by Tibor R. Machan
Woody's subversive idea about how it's all about luck is just what the Left likes to propagate about how economic success has nothing to do with achievement, with accomplishment, with virtue, with hard work--It's all just an accident. Bunk. (Read more...)
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On Spiritual Visualizing
by A. Robert Malcom
One of the things which have come to mean so much to me is the recognition that the purpose of an artist is far more than has generally been considered. An artist is, by the fact of 'showing' that which is of importance to that artist, a Spiritual Visualizer, a person who has undertaken the responsibility of... (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Slavery & Property - Communal vs. Individual
by Tibor R. Machan
If another person may not own me, what good is this if my assets and earnings may be taken from me without my permission? (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Romantic Games and Why We Play Them
by Tibor R. Machan
I never read this book but "The Rules" is supposed to be an instruction manual guiding women on how to deal effectively with men in the course of a budding romance. The central idea, not original to this little tract, is to keep the men coming while not showing them that you want them to. The idea is, of course, pretty familiar to most of us: in order to gain someone's interest, we need to play hard to get. It is supposed to apply to all of us, not just women aiming to get their man. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Misunderstanding Xmas Shopping
by Tibor R. Machan
You get it from all sides around this time of the year-"Xmas has become too commercial, too materialistic, lost its spirituality, blah, blah, blah." At the same time, of course, we also hear a lot of people urging us to be generous, give of ourselves, give to those who are in need, etc. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Optimism or Pessimism?
by Tibor R. Machan
At year's end, after columns and commentaries galore lamenting the state of contemporary society with respect to the slow growth and frequent setbacks on the road to individual liberty, it's worth asking whether an attitude of pessimism or optimism is warranted. These attitudes are, unlike, say, hope or anxiety, capabl... (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Castro in My Dream
by Tibor R. Machan
So then last night I had this dream of being at some kind of shindig, kind of like that one in Rumor Has It, where I meet Fidel, of all people. (Read more...)
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Thursday
December 29, 2005 |
Machan's Musings - America, the New Switzerland
by Tibor R. Machan
Back in the mid-80s I lived a while in Lugano, Switzerland but I had traveled in the country and through it several times before. And while there are innumerable desirable features of the place-the great Alps, the brilliant lakes, the clean neighborhoods everywhere, the efficiency of the train system and the general a... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
December 28, 2005 |
Machan's Musings - Students Need No Special Protection
by Tibor R. Machan
David Horowitz, the radical-turned-conservative think tank leader and campus activist, has been making a lot of waves regarding the overwhelming “liberal” bias in university classrooms across the country. He has proposed the drafting of an “Academic Bill of Rights” that, as The New York Times reports, “he says would encourage free debate and protect students against discrimination for expressing their political beliefs.” (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Monopoly Blues
by Tibor R. Machan
The post office should either hire more people so the mail gets out earlier or an alternative mail service should move into the region, offering competing first class delivery service. But, of course, this is illegal. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Critics of the Halfway Free Society
by Tibor R. Machan
Most of us who champion a certain political system concern ourselves mainly with showing why its full implementation would be best. Few people argue for a halfway house—socialists, libertarians, welfare statists, and so forth all tend to find their system of political economy to be sound when it is in full bloom. Yet hardly anyone expects a full blown actualization of the theory he or she has conceived as the best. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Predictability and Free Will in Economics
by Tibor R. Machan
At the beginning of each term I mention an apparent problem for students taking my business ethics course in our school of business and economics: While economists tend to approach their discipline with the understanding that human beings are relentless utility maximizers, in business ethics that idea would be very odd... (Read more...)
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Thursday
December 22, 2005 |
The First Renaissance
by A. Robert Malcom
The universe is, by its nature, dynamic. This is to say that everything of the universe is in motion, though of different speeds relative to each other. There is no beginning nor any ending, just an infinite series of evolving continuums. All actions have consequences, including those which have origins. What, then, ar... (Read more...)
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Thursday
December 22, 2005 |
Machan's Musings - Being Helpful isn't Always Best
by Tibor R. Machan
Now and then when one shops or patronizes some establishment, one receives favors from clerks or servers and this is usually quite welcome. Indeed, it is often believed that what makes people decent is how willing they are to be benevolent toward others. The late W. D. Falk, a philosopher at the University of North Car... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
December 21, 2005 |
Machan's Musings - Federal Judge Dictates Content of Biology Course
by Tibor R. Machan
Here you have it, the result of government education: Academic freedom is dead—a federal judge decided what Pennsylvania teachers may teach in biology classes. As MSNBC reports, "The Dover [PA] Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include ‘inte... (Read more...)
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Principles of Activism 2: Low Hanging Fruit
by Joseph Rowlands
In continuing with the identification of principles to make our activism more effective, we need to turn to a very simple one. The principle is to aim for the low hanging fruit. It means we should be seeking the easy accomplishments first instead of jumping at the most challenging.
... (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Iraqi Blogger Misguided about Occupation
by Tibor R. Machan
The December 18, 2005, New York Times featured some Iraqi bloggers commenting on their recent election. No enthusiastic samples were selected by The Time—naturally, since the editors there probably don’t like what has transpired—but some of them were revealing about how ill-educated certaikn Iraqis are. Here is one of ... (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Death Penalty for A Reformed Man
by Tibor R. Machan
The decision by California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger not to commute the death penalty sentence of multiple murderer Stanley "Tookie" Williams is as right and it can be under the circumstances. (Read more...)
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Saturday
December 17, 2005 |
Machan's Musings - Journalists et al & What Justice Needs
by Tibor R. Machan
Someone help me out—why do journalists, priests, psychiatrists and such folks (I can understand about attorneys) get a pass when they obstruct justice? Yes, that’s what they are doing when they refuse to tell who told them about some crime. (Read more...)
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Machan's Musings - Oil and Blood
by Tibor R. Machan
This is just what you get when people's value systems have become so warped that they are willing to put trees, snail darters, and rare frogs ahead of human lives and well-being on their list of priorities. But, like the Jehovah Witnesses or Christian Scientists, if they do it to themselves, that can only be argued with in a free country. But if they inflict their perverse notions on us all, they should be stopped.
(Read more...)
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Thursday
December 15, 2005 |
Machan Musings - Capitalism and Environmentalism
by Tibor R. Machan
One of the major challenges put before champions of a fully free, capitalist political economy comes from those worried about environmental degradation. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
December 14, 2005 |
Machan's Musings - Reforming Countries
by Tibor R. Machan
Some people will not accept even the help that's very good for them, period. We surely know this from our personal familiarity with some of those closest to us. (Read more...)
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