Episode 441 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following aphorisms written by Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski: “A good economist believes that the ones best suited to deal with the problem of scarcity are entrepreneurs. A bad economist believes that it’s the economists.”; “A fool believes that individual liberty can be established by means of political power. A person of reason believes that political power can be abolished by means of individual liberty.”; “A ‘just tax’ is something akin to an ‘affectionate rape’.”; “If the best thing you can say about something is that it is a “necessary evil”, then it is as obviously evil as it is unnecessary.”; “Border: the geographical expression of tribal parochialism.”; “A wise person is someone who is grateful for being called a fool when he’s wrong, indifferent to being called a fool when he’s right, embarrassed at being called a sage when he’s right, and troubled by being called a sage when he’s wrong.”
Author: Skyler J. Collins (Editor)
Founder and editor of Everything-Voluntary.com and UnschoolingDads.com, Skyler is a husband and unschooling father of three beautiful children. His writings include the column series “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” and “One Improved Unit,” and blog series “Two Cents“. Skyler also wrote the books No Hitting! and Toward a Free Society, and edited the books Everything Voluntary and Unschooling Dads. You can hear Skyler chatting away on his podcasts, Everything Voluntary and Thinking & Doing.
John Hasnas: Have Markets Failed? (25m)
This episode features a talk by law and business professor John Hasnas from 2013. He talks about the failures of “market-failure” arguments so often used by bureaucrats to justify government regulation. He explained why he believes that the internal regulatory mechanisms of free markets prove to be far more powerful than anything that politicians can attempt.
Fallacy of Accent & Expectations (19m) – Episode 050
Episode 050 looks at the Fallacy of Accent and Expectations as a cognitive bias.
Post-Punitive Parenting & Markets Aren’t Miraculous (21m) – Episode 440
Episode 440 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: an article he wrote in August 2011 titled, “Post-Punitive Parenting”; and an article he wrote in May 2018 titled, “Markets aren’t Miraculous; God Bless the World”.
Patrick’s Journey, Harassing People, & Peaceful Parenting University (51m) – Episode 439
Episode 439 welcomes Patrick Smith to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: growing up in the Dallas area, his Corvette and run-ins with cops; training to be a voluntary police officer in order to keep the cops off his back, and learning on ride-alongs that cops mostly just harass peaceful people all day long; studying the American founding fathers to answer the question of authority; delving deeper into Judge Napolitano and (old) Stefan Molyneux; his Not Governor campaign; creating Peaceful Parenting University; why communism even at the home/family level doesn’t work; why child dependency on their parents creates a positive obligation; spanking as a protective use of force; Walter Block’s evictionism theory of abortion; his search for practical peaceful parenting tools; was homeschooled for a year as a youth and always wanted that for his own kids; how he “unschooled” himself after hours as a youth; his unique experiences of raising separate sets of kids both traditionally and peacefully; responding to tantrums; how authoritarian parenting creates the expectation of authoritarianism; and more.
Stephan Kinsella: Property, What It Is and Isn’t (1h31m)
This episode features a lecture by libertarian theorist and patent attorney Stephan Kinsella from 2017. This talk sets out the framework for how to view property rights in general and then finally turns to intellectual property. The main talk lasted for about the first 30 minutes; the final hour is questions and answers.
Mental Health over Wealth, Good Friends, Difficult Situations, & Uncomfortable Truths (26m) – Episode 049
Episode 049 looks at choosing to protect your mental or physical health over choosing a higher paycheck; why being a good friend probably means holding your friends accountable for their poor decisions; some advice on dealing with difficult situations; and becoming comfortable in the face of uncomfortable truths.
David S. Returns, Ketosis and Severe COVID-19 (1h7m) – Episode 438
Episode 438 welcomes back David Scholes to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: the ketogenic diet and some exotic meats he’s eaten; ketone esters dietary supplement; he and his wife getting COVID-19, mild for him, much more sever for his wife (also diabetic); his wife’s experience in the hospital; his concern with what they were feeding her, while she was sedated; his last ditch effort to save his wife through ketosis, which showed very promising results, but he was too late; his wife’s passing; the potential of ketone esters and COVID-19 recovery; and more
John’s Journey, Rationality, Principles of Rational Living (59m) – Episode 437
Episode 437 welcomes John Vespasian to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: living all over Europe; the worldwide COVID-19 moment; the abundance of irrationality in the world today; the timeless commonplace of information manipulation; remaining rational in the face of extreme opposition; defining rationality (logical conclusions from relevant facts); developing a rational mentality; never accepting a single point of view or opinion; everyone has their blind spots and biases; the problem with positive thinking; among his many published books is 10 Principles of Rational Living, including: Think Like an Entrepreneur, not a Crusader, Accept the Inevitable Hassles of Life, and Acquire Effective Habits; the importance of keeping a lifetime perspective when making decisions; and more.
The Truly Educated & This is The Way (24m) – Episode 048
Episode 048 looks at two Stoic topics: the first from Epictetus who wrote, “The beautiful and good person neither fights with anyone nor, as much as they are able, permits others to fight . . . this is the meaning of getting an education—learning what is your own affair and what is not. If a person carries themselves so, where is there any room for fighting?”; and the second from artwork by mjhiblenart involving a character from The Mandalorian, a television series on Disney+. The episode begins with sad news about Carl Watner (RIP), the person who introduced Skyler to Stoicism.