Political Theory

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

Merlin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:30:51 GMT

Lots of anecdotal evidence too.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

Azure — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:18:26 GMT

I've never seen any scientific justification for this, but I'll admit you see it a lot in daytime dramas.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

Merlin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:01:54 GMT

That would seem to be true, but I have this impression that by will alone one can die. Comatose patients who ‘live’ for decades are probably unconscious the whole time. I can’t imagine someone living like that for long.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

Azure — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:41:31 GMT

Nothing can ever be worse than death, as one always has the ability to kill one’s self. So, it would seem that death is the upper limit of misfortune. I really don’t’ see what prevents those that think otherwise from putting a bullet in their temple.

Easy. Restrain them, give them basic sustenance through an IV. They can't kill themselves then.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

Merlin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:24:09 GMT

Nothing can ever be worse than death, as one always has the ability to kill one’s self. So, it would seem that death is the upper limit of misfortune. I really don’t’ see what prevents those that think otherwise from putting a bullet in their temple.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

BrianAnderson — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:15:33 GMT

It seems to me at least that enslavement in some cases could be worse than murder.

I agree in some cases, but not in others. Depending on the girl who's raped, I'd say she might think death is a better fate than getting raped and having to live with that fact.

It's weird to think about, but the most convincing debaters when it comes to this subject would be people who are descendents of slaves, only for the reason that they have the physical and emotional relationship with which to work. However, no descendent of a slave will argue that death is better than slavery because arguing against that point would be arguing against their own existence, most likely. If their ancestors were killed instead of being slaves, they might have never been born.

I've never heard of someone complaining that their mother didn't have an abortion.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

Marko — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 08:01:16 GMT

Does slavery predate trade? I don't think it does.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

Merlin — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:24:49 GMT

It might be bold (although far form his boldest statement in HA) but appears to be true. Crowd can frown as much as they wish. Truth is no majority voting.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

Prateek Sanjay — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 06:58:41 GMT

Daniel Muffinburg:

"Similarly, colonialism is meant to bring freedom to dictatorial tribal systems."

Sources, please.

Daniel, how many times must it be explained that MarketFundamentalist is a troll?

As in - a poster from a left-wing or Republican forum coming here to secretly annoy or make fun of us, while other forumers watch. Why do you get trolled by trolls?

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

DanielMuff — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 06:23:15 GMT

Okay, thanks. I didn't know that all history books about the colonialization of the Asiatic and African nations held the same view.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

MarketFundamentalist — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 06:17:19 GMT

Huh? Read any history book about the colonialization of the Asiatic and African nations.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

Daniel James Sanchez — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 06:05:43 GMT

Another bold statement:

Paradoxical though it may sound, the poor receive what they do because rich people exist.

--Mises, Socialism

Mises spells out what he means by this in his paper Profit and Loss. (a fantastic read, btw) It's not really about rich people per se; it's about rich entrepreneurs:

The riches of successful entrepreneurs is not the cause of anybody's poverty; it is the consequence of the fact that the consumers are better supplied than they would have been in the absence of the entrepreneur's effort. The penury of millions in the backward countries is not caused by anybody's opulence; it is the correlative of the fact that their country lacks entrepreneurs who have acquired riches. The standard of living of the common man is highest in those countries which have the greatest number of wealthy entrepreneurs. It is to the foremost material interest of everybody that control of the factors of production should be concentrated in the hands of those who know how to utilize them in the most efficient way.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

DanielMuff — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:39:42 GMT

"Similarly, colonialism is meant to bring freedom to dictatorial tribal systems."

Sources, please.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

MarketFundamentalist — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:06:31 GMT

One needs to take bitter medicine to get healthy. Similarly, colonialism is meant to bring freedom to dictatorial tribal systems.

Re: This is such a bold statement by Mises

DD5 — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:45:48 GMT

Another bold statement:

Paradoxical though it may sound, the poor receive what they do because rich people exist.

--Mises, Socialism

"Mises" is nothing but one bold statement after another.