Thursday
December 25, 2014 |
 Fair Share
by Joseph Rowlands
One of the most common, and most poisonous, ideas in politics is the idea of paying a fair share. Politicians, particularly leftist politicians, repeated this phrase over and over to justify ever greater taxes and government intervention. The claim is that they only want the rich to pay an appropriate amount, and that ... (Read more...)
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Thursday
December 11, 2014 |
Trust and Betrayal
by Joseph Rowlands
One of the most significant means of achieving values is through cooperation with others. We rely on others in all kinds of ways. We gain information from them so we can act in an informed way. We get second opinions from them, so we can add some assurance that our analysis is correct. We rely on them in business or ot... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
December 3, 2014 |
White Lies
by Joseph Rowlands
One variant of dishonesty comes in the form of so-called 'white' lies. These are lies told in order to make someone feel better or not be confronted with a painful truth. You might tell someone that you like their cooking, or that they look good in that dress, or that they haven't gained weight. These are lies that use... (Read more...)
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Standard versus Goal
by Joseph Rowlands
There's a longstanding debate on Objectivist forums over what is the proper standard of morality. One view, taken by Rand, is that survival is the standard. Others are unhappy with this and promote flourishing as the alternative. Which is the better standard?
... (Read more...)
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Thursday
November 13, 2014 |
Moral Landscape Review
by Joseph Rowlands
The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris is a book with a theme I entirely agree with. He attempts to make the case that morality can be objectively defined, and consequently can benefit from scientific investigation and the determination of facts. In contrast, far too many people see morality as entirely disconnected from fa... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
November 5, 2014 |
Defining Anarchy
by Joseph Rowlands
One of the problems with discussing politics with "anarcho-capitalists" or "libertarian anarchists" or whatever they go by, is there is so rarely a definition given for what they are promoting. They will often claim to be for a society without a government, but that's not clear. It's a negative description, and one pos... (Read more...)
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Religious Excuses
by Joseph Rowlands
Reality exists and behaves regardless of our desires or beliefs. If you act on faulty information, your action will likely fail. If you think an old bridge should hold your weight, and you try to walk across, you may find out the hard way that believing something doesn't make it so.
... (Read more...)
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Religion and Tolerance
by Joseph Rowlands
I recently heard stories of atheists living in deeply religious communities. They were having problems being open about their disbelief because of the probable backlash. One mentioned telling his family that he was an atheist, and they were horrified and demanded that he not tell anyone else, since they might all be os... (Read more...)
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Incompatibility of Altruism and Egoism
by Joseph Rowlands
A question that comes up often is whether it is possible for an action to be both altruistic and egoistic. Is a morality of self-interest always in conflict with a morality of altruism? Or is it just some choices that conflict?
... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
September 24, 2014 |
Bottom-up View of Government
by Joseph Rowlands
There are two ways of approaching the topic of government from the perspective of justifying it. Ayn Rand used a top-down perspective. She recognized the need for individual rights to be protected, and asserted the need for some group or organization to exist that defends those rights. The group or organization is gove... (Read more...)
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Thursday
September 18, 2014 |
There is no John Galt - and that's worse
by Michael E. Marotta
What you tax you get less of; and what you subsidize you get more of. The brightest people in the world are making video games; and no one is on the Moon. It did not take a genius to figure this out: it is a universal law of human action. There is a destroyer loose in the who is shutting off the motor of the world, slowing the engine of creation, tapping out the extra power of invention. But it is not one person whose name is a question.
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Saturday
September 6, 2014 |
Winners and Losers
by Joseph Rowlands
There's one conversation I've had over and over with different people. There are many starting points, but the ending point is the same. They present a belief that if the world had a large number of much smarter people, the people who are currently doing well would end up paid less and in more menial jobs. The basic fe... (Read more...)
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Changing One Thing
by Joseph Rowlands
A very common mistake that people make is that they imagine a world where one thing changes, while everything else stays the same. They don't realize how connected things are, and how making a change can have significant, and sometimes undesirable, consequences.
... (Read more...)
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Rare Position
by Joseph Rowlands
There is one idea in topic of morality that I think is essential for people to recognize and understand. It is the idea that there are many different moral systems in the world. The prevalent belief is that there is some universally recognized thing called morality that describes a very specific set of policies or valu... (Read more...)
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Playing the Auction House
by Joseph Rowlands
I played World of Warcraft a few years back. One of the most interesting features of the game is an auction house they created. Players can put stuff that they find throughout the game up for sale. Other players can search for items, place bids on them, or buy them outright. Items can be placed for sale for 24 to 48 ho... (Read more...)
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Taking Charity
by Joseph Rowlands
I once wrote about how certain situations can punish the just and benefit the unjust. One scenario I described was when someone offers upfront to pay for your lunch. An unjust person would delight in taking advantage of the situation and ordering more expensive food or more of it. They would be willing to be wasteful. ... (Read more...)
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An Analysis of Egoism and Altruism
by Merlin Jetton
... (Read more...)
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Occam's Razor
by Joseph Rowlands
The law of parsimony, or Occam's razor, suggests that among competing hypotheses, the simplest should be selected. Which one is simpler? The one with the fewest number of assumptions.
... (Read more...)
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Use of Banks and Dollars: Enabling Infringements on Your Liberty
by Dean Michael Gores
Banks and dollars had been great, because they helped us trade honest market goods. They still perform this service, which is wonderful.
... (Read more...)
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Preexisting Conditions
by Joseph Rowlands
One of the more depressing looks at the Tea Party movement was a survey about what they thought of Obama's healthcare plan. The good news was that they were against it. The bad news was that they were happy to keep the rule preventing insurance companies from not insuring people that had preexisting conditions. The ind... (Read more...)
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A Culture of Reality, Reason, and Freedom
by Michael E. Marotta
Minarchists claim that a constitutionally-limited government is the best protection for our rights, and therefore our best option for a peaceful world. Free market anarchists disagree with that. Minarchists reply that eventually, the largest private defense agency inevitably will become the new government. Without a historical record, the theoretical arguments could not be resolved. In fact, empirical evidence abounds.
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Too Strident
by Joseph Rowlands
While talking to some atheists, I mentioned that there was something about many people in the atheist movement that bothered me. Before I could say what it was, they tried to guess. They assumed I was talking about how strident some atheists are, like Richard Dawkins. They talked about him and others as if they are bel... (Read more...)
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The Erosion of Our Freedom
by Tibor R. Machan
Often when I argue that governments must not violate our rights--they are supposed to be unalienable, after all--statists have a ready retort: Government is already violating them, good and hard, all over the place. (Read more...)
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Republicans for Voldemort
by Michael E. Marotta
If Voldemort were a Republican, it would be unnecessary, like "Republicans for Palin." (Read more...)
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Criminal Morality
by Joseph Rowlands
There's a widespread idea that there is one universally accepted view of morality. Occasionally, people will develop a slightly more nuanced view and suggest that each country or culture has its own morality. But even here, it is accepted that within that culture, there is a universal recognition of what is and isn't m... (Read more...)
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