One thing most people overlook in the course of day to day life is the degree to which governments make everything we purchase far more expensive than it would otherwise be. Consider that every company that manufactures a product needs to first procure raw materials, shape those materials to their specific needs and combine those parts into the finished product, then distribute (transport) them to buyers/vendors who will then sell them to consumers.
Tag: order
Spinoza – A Man for Our Troubled Times
In these interesting times, we all need someone to admire. I have found such a one in Benedict de Spinoza (1632-1677), the 17th-century rationalist liberal philosopher who advocated freedom of thought and expression, toleration, and simple kindness.
We Must Leave Royalism Behind
Courtiers and trappings. When the founders drafted the Constitution, they ignored the main evil — the king was not dead. We are still in the European mindset that arose out of the Medieval Age and the dementia of Hobbes.
Crisis Management
Recently, Forbes magazine published an article listing four rules of crisis management. The rules were illustrated with examples from the current hullabaloo over the confirmation of the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice.
“Let Me See Your ID First.”
One thought that keeps running through my mind is that believers in the State must expect everyone to swap “government-issued ID” when they meet (and be able to tell if it is “real”), just in case anything happens later on. Maybe they believe the State should issue “Approved for Sex” cards, with age restrictions on which partners you’re allowed, of course.
Use Better Tech (Not Laws) To Reduce Texting and Driving Deaths
In the past year or so I’ve started to notice a new feature on my phone: with simple artificial intelligence the text messaging app is able to auto-generate simple, relevant replies to text. So if someone says “hi”, you can say “hi” right on back. But it’s actually more sophisticated than it sounds. It can detect,…
Two Cheers for Trump’s Declassification Order
On September 17, Politico reports, US president Donald Trump partially declassified a government surveillance application targeting former campaign consultant Carter Page and directed the US Department of Justice to publicly release text messages relating to the “Russiagate” probe between former FBI Director James Comey and other DoJ/FBI personnel.
Chaos and Order
If you stand for a bit of contemplation, on the edge of my driveway, looking into the first part of the forest, a forest that stretches for 80 acres, and at the outer edge of which my woods conjoin with the woods of neighbors, you will see what most would call “chaos.”
Political Boycotts with Taxpayer Money? Just Don’t Do It
All well and good. One nice thing about markets is that they’re hyper-democracies in which we all get to vote with our patronage, every day and with every purchase. Unfortunately, some people think they’re entitled to vote with other people’s dollars. Marshall Fisher, head of Mississippi’s Department of Public Safety, is one such.
Are We Sure It Can’t It Happen Here?
One runs a risk whenever one cites the 20th century’s great terror states while discussing current ominous developments in the western democracies. Apparent comparisons of the United States or western and central European countries to Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia will inevitably be hooted down with accusations of alarmist conspiracy-mongering and worse, shameful ahistoricity. Nevertheless, that must not keep us from noticing and pointing to contemporary events that bear an eerie resemblance, however slight, to things that went on in those totalitarian terror states.