I attempt to demonstrate that the Mengerian-Misesian tradition offers unique insights into the logic of communicative rationality by emphasizing and exploring its indispensable associations with the logic of action.
Tag: democracy
The Entrepreneur Who Became a Billionaire After Being Rejected by Facebook
Jan Koum had a rough upbringing. At 16, he immigrated from Europe to the United States with his mother and grandmother, who were fleeing political unrest and religious persecution. Jan’s mother got a job as a babysitter in California while Jan went to school and worked at a grocery store cleaning floors. His father planned…
“Socialism”: The Provocative Equivocation
The socialists are back, but is it a big deal? It’s tempting to say that it’s purely rhetorical. Modern socialists don’t want to emulate the Soviet Union. To them, socialism just means “Sweden,” right? Even if their admiration for Sweden is unjustified, we’ve long known that the Western world contains millions of people who want their countries to be like Sweden. Why should we care if Sweden-fans rebrand themselves as “socialists”?
A US War on Iran would be Evil, Stupid, and Self-Damaging
“If Iran wants to fight,” US president Donald Trump tweeted on May 19, “that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again.” The “threat” Trump appears to be responding to is a statement from Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that “[w]e are certain … there will not be a war since neither we want a war nor does anyone have the illusion that they can confront Iran in the region.”
Education Entrepreneurs Are the Only Ones Who Can Disrupt the Status Quo
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that most of the organizations I highlight in Unschooled are independently run. Disruptive innovation may originate with individual ingenuity, but it is fueled by consumer demand and value creation within the private sector.
Underwear in a Wad
I don’t even want to hear my opinion on the outcome of the Kentucky Derby, but here it is anyway. There are rules for voluntary participation. And sometimes the rules may be misapplied. But the basic rules of voluntary behavior are 1) end it, and 2) move on. Nobody wants to recontend the Derby, except those who have direct skin in the game.
Social Media Companies “Struggle” to Help Censors Keep us in the Dark
According to CNN Business, “Facebook, YouTube and Twitter struggle to deal with New Zealand shooting video.” “Deal with” is code for “censor on demand by governments and activist organizations who oppose public access to information that hasn’t first been thoroughly vetted for conformity to their preferred narrative.”
Congress’s Cowardly “Emergency” Rebuke
Trump’s declaration of a fake “national emergency” was actually a declaration that he is now an absolute monarch, a dictator, no longer accountable to Congress for his actions. If that’s not covered by the Constitution’s “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” clause outlining grounds for impeachment, what is?
Mandatory National Service: “Strengthening American Democracy” by Ignoring Americans’ Rights
The state has no legitimate power to take your life, or any portion of it, from you, nor any legitimate power to force you to serve its goals rather than seeking after your own happiness. “Mandatory national service” is slavery, full stop. It’s a moral abomination with no conceivable justification in anything resembling a free society, and under the US Constitution in particular it is clearly and unambiguously illegal.
Trade Peer Pressure for Past Pressure
Spend enough time around the good and dead people of the past and you will grow in their direction – just like you might grow in the direction of your millennial peers.