Being continuously asked to give and not to take away, to intervene and not to harm, state rulers will use up all their discretionary power just to remain in command. They have to promise more to outbid their political competitors. The state will thus need more and more economic power. It will fuse political and economic power into “state capitalism.” It will stealthily nationalize the economy, through regulation and cronyism rather than via the Marxist route. Eventually, it will have no choice but to abolish electoral competition and the other checks and balances in order to effectively pursue the happiness of the people–and the power of the rulers.
Category: Uncategorized
Slavery Was a Global Phenomenon
American slavery was horrible—and far from unique.
Pointing out how abusive white people were is not going to get black Americans any more capital. Most problems in the modern black community don’t have anything to do with historical ethnic conflict 160 years ago… Racism didn’t increase between 1960 and the modern era. You’re looking at the impacts of the Great Society, the welfare programs.
https://reason.com/2024/08/07/was-slavery-in-the-u-s-worse-than-the-rest-of-the-world/
World’s Smallest Political Quiz Results from Pride 2024
Many people don’t know they’re Libertarian! Take the quiz for yourself at https://www.theadvocates.org/quiz/.
David Friedman’s Substack: How to Change the World
People sometimes ask me is how to change the world, in my context in a libertarian direction. One of my answers is that, because of rational ignorance, political outcomes are largely determined by free information, what everyone knows, true or false. One way of changing outcomes is by putting ideas in an entertaining and easily remembered form so that they will be remembered, repeated, spread, become part of what everyone knows.
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/how-to-change-the-world
Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor’s staff prodded colleges and libraries to buy her books
Supreme Court staffers have been deeply involved in organizing speaking engagements intended to sell books. That is conduct prohibited for members of Congress and the executive branch, who are barred under ethics rules from using government resources, including staff, for personal financial gain. Lower federal court judges are also instructed to not “lend the prestige of the judicial office to advance” their “private interests.”
A Birthday Tribute to the ‘Sage of Baltimore’ — H.L. Mencken
As democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
Plagiarism and ChatGPT
Plagiarism is a serious issue in the academic world, and it is important to be mindful of the potential for ChatGPT (and other AI language models) to be used in a manner that violates these standards. However, it is ultimately up to individuals to use these tools responsibly, and to ensure that they are not contributing to the problem of plagiarism.
https://reason.com/volokh/2022/12/29/a-guest-post-on-plagiarism-and-chatgpt/#more-8217100
What Is the Issue in the Supreme Court’s Web Designer Case, and Why Do So Many People Misstate It?
…the issue is compelled speech. But distinguished legal scholars and journalists keep misstating the cases as whether a service provider can refuse service to certain types of people, such as gay people.
Klaus Schwab Proclaims China a “Role Model” for Many Nations
The Chinese model is a one-party totalitarian dictatorship, imposing a socialist command economy. By recommending such a model for “a number of countries,” the WEF founder, 84, removes himself from any serious economic or political debate.
Data on Mass Murder by Government in the 20th Century
Communists killed the most, followed by fascists.
At the insistence of Josef Stalin, the Genocide Convention applies to some mass murders by government (e.g., targeting racial, ethnic, or religious groups) but not to others (e.g., targeting victims for class warfare or ideological reasons). Hence, prof. Rummel coined the term “democide” to describe noncombat mass murders for any reason.
https://reason.com/volokh/2022/11/09/data-on-mass-murder-by-government-in-the-20th-century/