Is poverty the default state of mankind? In one sense, yes, but in another sense, no. Yes, everyone is born naked and penniless. Then, through gift, trade, and production we build wealth. Some build a lot, others a little.
Tag: change
Foreign Policy II: The United States Should Diplomatically Recognize Liberland
In my previous article on Foreign Policy, I discussed normative U.S. foreign policy in the context of the Constitution. In this article, I focus on a particular aspect of U.S. foreign policy when I posit that the U.S. should recognize Liberland diplomatically.
Overvaluing or Undervaluing Motivations
I think when people discuss the motivations of human interaction (politics, history, and economics included) they often don’t realize that they understand many of the relevant factors, but they often overvalue and undervalue certain ones. For example, I tend to think historians overvalue leadership and undervalue economics.
Prosperity: Maybe Not What I Thought It Meant
I’ve always thought of “prosperity” as having an abundance of material wealth, and that seems to be consistent with popular usage. However, my thinking here has been going through some changes lately.
SALT Shakeup: So Much for “Their Fair Share”
I’m all in favor of state governments operating as charities, but real charities take actual donations, not donations in lieu of taxes. Why not keep those charitable foundations and use them to replace, rather than offset, state and local taxes? And while we’re at it, how about we push the feds to do the same thing? Want a new aircraft carrier? Hold a bake sale.
Stop Criminalizing Parenthood
Today it seems that childhood freedom has gone the way of afternoon paper routes. Both are relics of an earlier time, when kids were allowed—expected even—to be outside, unsupervised, playing with friends around the neighborhood, riding bikes, mowing lawns, walking dogs, and a whole host of other common childhood activities.
It’s Time to Free All Speech Again
No matter how you feel about Alex Jones and his Infowars media brand, this wasn’t good for free speech. It was the escalation of a war that has been building for some time, where voices running counter to the political biases of the dominant social media empires are being silenced.
How to Be Mindful All the Time
I often get asked about how to remember to be mindful more of the time — how can we remember to not only be present more, but to be compassionate, to drop into our bodies when we’re feeling difficult emotions, to have a beginner’s mind, to relax into the chaos of the moment?
A Utilitarian Case for Incompetent Traffic Cops
Thank your lucky stars for inefficient law enforcement. When toleration fails, you’ll always be able to count on some room for social innovation. But when inefficiency fails, we’ll be in a much tighter spot.
On the Media
Trump recently declared on Twitter that “the FAKE NEWS media” is “the enemy of the American people!” He’s not wrong, but neither was the pot calling the kettle black.