My main criticism: Tyler is so pro-business that he often forgets (at least rhetorically) to be pro-market. He spends minimal time calling for moderate deregulation – and even less calling for radical deregulation. So while he effectively calls attention to everything business does for us, he barely shows readers how much business could do for us if government got out of the way.
Tag: addiction
Johann Hari: The Disastrous War on Drugs (3h0m)
This episode features an interview of journalist Johann Hari from 2019 by Joe Rogan, host of the Joe Rogan Experience. They discuss the effects of the War on Drugs, the roots of drug addiction, and his new book, Chasing the Scream.
Confessions of a Blogging Opium Eater
With a nod to Thomas De Quincey, I have had to deal with the consequences of an addiction once again. As a life long University of Kentucky basketball fan, I now must look forward to a long, cold summer. I will have fleeting moments, perhaps in the NBA playoffs, perhaps when they contest the Rugby World Cup to see who can deny the New Zealand All Blacks. But this all got me thinking about the nature of undying love, freedom, individuality, and consequences, from the POV of a voluntaryist.
Reflections on The Sopranos
I just finished re-watching the entirety of The Sopranos, HBO’s classic Mafia drama. I saw it season-by-season when it originally aired (1999-2007), and I still hew to the allegedly philistine view that the ending was not only bad, but insulting. Overall, though the show’s reputation is well-deserved. Here are the top social science insights I take away.
Apology for a Trainwreck
The ethnographies of Oscar Lewis paint a bleak picture of lower-class life. The thousands of pages of published interviews in books like Five Families, The Children of Sanchez, Four Men, and La Vida show a relentless trainwreck of impulsive sex, unplanned pregnancy, child neglect, child abuse, drug addiction, drunkenness, degenerate gambling, intra-family violence, near-random violence, parasitism, and gross financial mismanagement. …
Who Owns You?
The problem is not this or that regulation. Nor is the problem even the FDA itself. The root problem is the government’s claim to jurisdiction over so-called “public health.” The ultimate question is: who owns you? The answer will determine who is to be in charge of health.
Addicts Can’t Think Outside Their Box
No part of statism is a given. Any of it can be eliminated; all of it can be eliminated. That one part of it excuses another part doesn’t mean you have to keep either part. Ditch them both. It’s the sensible thing to do.
Time to Break Government Addiction
When an addict’s supply is cut off, it’s usually an agonizing journey through withdrawal to the other side of the addiction; where the poison finally loosens its grip on the person, giving him a new chance at life. I’m not talking about a chemical dependency this time, but a far more deadly condition: government addiction.
On Voluntaryists IV
One notable difference between voluntaryists and coercivists are the former’s insistence on tackling issues from their root, largely dug deep in a coercive foundation. Coercivists prefer to hack away at the branches with nary a concern for whose lives and liberties they may be violating.
Ego Dropping: The Magic of Breaking Free from Self-Concern
What happens once you drop the ego and drop into a wide open, gentle, loving awareness? Magic. You don’t have to run to comfort and away from discomfort, you don’t have to protect your self-image from others, you don’t have to defend yourself or worry about failure or being judged.