 The Folly of Workplace Regulations
by William Scott Dwyer
Workplace regulations do more harm than good, contrary to the claims of government regulators. They create unemployment and interfere with the free choices of workers and business. (Read more...)
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 Dismissing Your Thoughts
by Tibor R. Machan
Whenever I would voice any of my views about politics, economics, child
rearing or whatever, these folks explained it away by my origins, my
having been born and raised in Budapest, Hungary, then a Soviet
(communist) satellite. Everything I thought and said was deemed to have
been caused by my background. (Read more...)
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Philosophical Foundations of the Enlightenment
by Michael F Dickey
With then the application of reason to every philosophical realm; truth, existence, art, morality, and politics - all the great progress of the modern world; freedom, democracy, science, and capitalism – would be forged and would cultivate the very same lush vibrant human garden Voltaire desired, because in cultures that adopted the ideals of The Enlightenment a flourishing to an extent never before seen in the history of humanity would take root, ushering a period of unequaled material affluence, unprecedented scientific growth, unparalleled religious and ethnic tolerance and unequivocal individual freedom. (Read more...)
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 Religion & Liberalism (*)
by Manfred F. Schieder
The author published the essence of this article some 25 years ago in an Argentine newsmagazine. In spite of the time gone by, the topic has, unfortunately, not lost its primacy. It is as actual and as pressing as it was then, particularly in view of the recent anti-capitalist declarations by the present Pope Benedict 16. (Read more...)
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Is It All Luck?
by Tibor R. Machan
Well, much may be luck or its absence but much also isn't. This is a case
of what I called in one of my early books, The Pseudo-Science of B. F.
Skinner (1973), the blow up fallacy. It involves taking a picture--i. e.,
considering--some small portion of the world or life and seeing it quite
clearly but then making the leap of applying it to everything. (Read more...)
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The Navigation System - A Parable
by Richard Gleaves
Philosophy as Guidance (Read more...)
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Yes, Roger Federer is Human
by Tibor R. Machan
No, there is no way to engineer human beings to be excellent. This is
precisely what makes them so human--however they turn out is to a large
measure their own doing, following their beliefs and choices. (Read more...)
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Quo vadis, Businessmen?
by Manfred F. Schieder
True, free businessmen are facing the situation of the renewed attempt by governments all over the world to establish collectivist systems that, as history proved many times over, throw the general population into dictatorships and, thus, a life of famine and despair. The article poses the question if businessmen have noticed this menacing purpose and presents the answer to face it from the very start. (Read more...)
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Truncated "Liberty"
by Tibor R. Machan
In public finance there is a trick well captured by the famous Laffer
Curve. Up to a certain point people will tolerate being taxed and then,
after that point, they won't take it any longer. So governments do well if
they identify that point (not an easy thing because our tolerance level is
not the same). (Read more...)
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 Society as an End and Society as a Means
by Manfred F. Schieder
Which of both is the type of society corresponding to the rational, free, peaceful and productive individual? This article presents the analysis in favor of the correct foundation of coexistence. (Read more...)
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On Passing Judgment: Politics versus Etiquette
by Ted Keer
From Ayn Rand's break with the Brandens to the current fiasco over James Valliant's banning at Wikipedia, Objectivists have taken sides and demanded that sides be taken. Is this the best policy in all cases? (Read more...)
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Hope versus Reality
by Tibor R. Machan
One main reason that bureaucracies are generally sluggish and unenthusiastic
about serving the public--as distinct from private vendors--is this
element of constant competition, combined with the fact that bureaucrats
gain their income from taxes which can often be raised with impunity by
those who hire them. (Read more...)
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OBAMA: HONORING THE DEAD AND DISRUPTING THE LIVING
by Alexandra York
I wonder: How many times did they dine in the city of Paris and visit Notre Dame (a top tourist attraction even for young neophytes) in private life, as do most people who are genuinely interested in learning about and experiencing other cultures on their own initiative and acquiring the attendant sophistication of worldly and historical knowledge? (Read more...)
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The Parable of the Empty Throne - a warning for Democrats
by Richard Gleaves
The best intentions can still sow the seed of dictatorship. (Read more...)
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Mini Business Ethics & Freedom
by Tibor R. Machan
Freedom does not promise perfection by a long shot. (Read more...)
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 Degrading Art
by Manfred F. Schieder
For long stretches of time, art has been used to nullify reason as the characteristic that identifies human beings. Nowadays, through "modern art", it display existence as worthless and despicable. But art is the tool to show the universe and life's magnificence and also the means to promote the creation of a rational type of society. As such, it deserves greatest attention and respect. (Read more...)
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Catering to Altruists
by Tibor R. Machan
It is pathetic how perverse an idea of political leadership guides this
new president. He should back off already. (Read more...)
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The Primary-Secondary Quality Distinction
by Merlin Jetton
Commentary on the primary-secondary quality distinction. (Read more...)
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Do All of us Expect to be Millionaires?
by Tibor R. Machan
Sunday is the day when even profit making broadcasters must do service or
pro bono work. And this mostly consists of broadcasting programs
misleadingly labeled "public affairs." (I say this because none of these
programs is actually about what matters to everyone, to the public, but
only to one or another special interest group and, mostly to bureaucrats
and their groupies.)
(Read more...)
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Dinner at the White House - a parable
by Richard Gleaves
Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a... (Read more...)
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Implementing Capitalism
by Manfred F. Schieder
The implementation of liberalism (in the European sense of the term) as the future social system and Capitalism as its economic tool, requires the previous training of the future administrators that will take up the practical task of reforming the present form and content of governments into Administrations of the Means of Defense of the Rights of the Individual. This article contemplates some of the topics involved. (Read more...)
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Leonard Peikoff vs. Philosophy
by Barry Loberfeld
After almost 20 years, "Leonard Peikoff vs. Philosophy" — my reply to his "Fact and Value" — is now available (and illustrated) online. (Read more...)
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 "Rewards" of Determinism?
by Tibor R. Machan
Anytime in arguments among intellectuals motivations are introduced, one
risks taking a false step. First, few people know why others champion a
position on some controversial topic, although sometimes one can guess
fairly well. Still, it is strictly speaking bad form to raise the issue of
motives. (Read more...)
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 The Dubai Marvels
by Manfred F. Schieder
The architectural and engineering achievements being nowadays set up in Dubai, at the United Arab Emirates, are testimonies of human ingenuity and capacity, but they are also symbols marking the amazing depth that human immorality has now reached. Peaceful, productive life and togetherness among different human races, nations and populations require from all involved a strict adherence to the personal, individual rights to life and limb. (Read more...)
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Guaranteed Health Care?
by Tibor R. Machan
Why is it taken to be a palatable notion that people should get their
health care guaranteed? Of course, there are other services that are
treated as if people had a basic right to them, such as primary and
secondary education. But then there are many services people want, even
need, that few would regard as due people as a guarantee. (Read more...)
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