Blogs

The Pseudo-economics of Protectionism

Lately it seems that it has become fashionable on both the Left and Right to bemoan the evils of the trade deficit; however, this penchant for protectionism is founded upon a general lack of knowledge when it comes to economics. Let's examine a few...

Posted to Veritas by zsignal on Sat, Dec 1 2007

Filed under: trade, free trade, protectionism, trade deficit

The Rational and Individualist Case Against Racism

I'd like to state upfront that I am not an egalitarian, which is to say that I am fully aware of the fact that people are inherently unequal with respect to their mental and physical capabilities as individuals, and I despise the politically correct...

Posted to Brainpolice by Brainpolice on Sat, Dec 1 2007

Filed under: Racism, Determinism, Polylogism, Collectivism, Discrimination, Separatism, Philosophy

Adjectival taxation

To begin my Austrian blog about language relating to Austrian economics, I will first touch on taxation. Specifically, how do people talk about taxes? First, people always ascribe an adjective to some sort of taxation. I state this because adjectives...

Posted to Apropos Austrian Aphorisms by thedo on Fri, Nov 30 2007

Filed under: fewer taxes, lower taxes, less taxes, taxation, taxes, adjectives

Fighting for Whose Rights?

I've often heard, "Go ahead and protest the war, but remember that they are fighting for your right to do so." Is this really true? I have no doubt that some truly believe this; however, they are mistaken and/or misled. Often this response...

Posted to Veritas by zsignal on Fri, Nov 30 2007

Filed under: rights, free speech, war

Pragmatic Utilitarianism: A Road to Tyranny

The arguements given by people to justify unethical acts are usually utilitarian, which is to say that a given act is defended on the grounds that it is beneficial to someone. This is commonly manifested in the arguements given in defense of the alleged...

Posted to Brainpolice by Brainpolice on Fri, Nov 30 2007

Filed under: Ethics, Universality, Subjective Value, Utilitarianism, Aesthetics, Philosophy

Hitler and Interventionism

I guess this is common knowledge, but hearing the way Senator McCain used the worn-out Hitler analogy against Dr. Paul ("we allowed Hitler to come to power with that kind of attitude of isolationism and appeasement"), I felt I should repeat...

Posted to libertas by Libertas est Veritas on Fri, Nov 30 2007

Minarchism.

This is a reply to the brain police's article "Minarchis: Ethically Self-contradictory" It just wouldn't be fair to leave a 3 page comment. so here it is. I'm pretty new to a real debate about anarchist so if I mis represent any...

Posted to Attackdonkey by Attackdonkey on Fri, Nov 30 2007

John McCain and Nock

John McCain is an educated man. A highly educated man. A man who has attended many, many classes in manifold schools. And a man with enough (harsh!) first-hand experience of history and of war that he should possess a deep, personal understanding of the...

Posted to scottyokim by scottyokim on Thu, Nov 29 2007

Checks and Balances: Two Kinds

Checks and balances should be a fairly familiar concept to Americans. The standard definition of checks and balances is that the state must be broken up into multiple segments that function as checks against eachother's power and perform different...

Posted to Brainpolice by Brainpolice on Wed, Nov 28 2007

Filed under: Competition, Collusion, Decentralization, Centralization, Monopoly, Checks and Balances

Minarchism: Ethically Self-contradictary

The basic idea of minarchism is that the government should be expressly small and limited to the defense of person and property of those within the territorial dominion of the government. This generally implies that the government's services be limited...

Posted to Brainpolice by Brainpolice on Tue, Nov 27 2007

Filed under: Anarchism, Taxation, Objectivism, Minarchism, Non-Aggression Axoim, Ethics, Coercive Monopoly, Competition, Universality

The Damning Mentality of the American Right

Give Peace a Chance It is funny that a word like “Peace” automatically brands you a commie loving democrat to so many people. The idea of “perpetual war” and always having an enemy to fight is so engrained on the American Right that the idea of peace...

Posted to IrishOutlaw by IrishOutlaw on Mon, Nov 26 2007

Filed under: nationalism, Terrorism, communism, war, Rothbard, neocons

Fear and Loathing in the Establishment

To an outsider, the quirks of US politics are at times funny, and at times scary. The latest quirk seems to be coming from the Democratic side, where the fear of Ron Paul stealing their thunder is running rampant. And I am not surprised, as Ron Paul is...

Posted to libertas by Libertas est Veritas on Mon, Nov 26 2007

What do we know about banks? PART II

Banking system has not always been like it is now. This is perhaps no surprise. However the fact that it seems now to be more sophisticated does not necessarily signifies progress. In fact it’s something else. What do we really know about banks? In the...

Posted to RECONOMICS by SSLK on Mon, Nov 26 2007

Filed under: money, banks, inflation, bysiness cycle

Supreme Court – Enemy of Freedom

Judicial Activism The US Supreme Court is set to hear a case involving gun bans. The interesting thing about Supreme Court cases is that one side will say they screwed up, no matter what. The court is accused by one side of abusing their power, or legislating...

Posted to IrishOutlaw by IrishOutlaw on Sun, Nov 25 2007

Filed under: Parker v. District of Columbia, gun control, supreme court, guns

Thinking about Thinking: Nock and Mises

The recent posting on mises.org of Nock's lecture "The Theory of Education in the United States" resonated with me because I still remember attending my high school and college classes asking "Where did the Latin go?" I felt like...

Posted to scottyokim by scottyokim on Thu, Nov 22 2007