There’s a path my life could have taken – could still take – toward the life of an intellectual. I’ve just about always been interested in one or more of the favorite intellectual subjects of philosophy, history, politics, theology, economics, psychology, and sociology (whatever that is). I’ve always liked to have big opinions on things. And I’ve always preferred toying with ideas to toying with numbers or machines. But I’m beginning to think this is an aptitude worth resisting. It’s not obvious to me that intellectuals as such bring a whole lot of benefit to the world.
Tag: politics
Coronavirus: Politically Created Panic is the Real Pandemic
Attention paid to, and resources thrown at, victims of the predictable annual flu epidemic will decrease in favor of the minor but newly lucrative COVID-19 nuisance.
Instead of Tax “Holidays,” How About Real Tax Cuts?
I’m all for lower taxes, but tax holidays aren’t about lower taxes. They’re about three things: Social engineering, political grandstanding, and special interest pandering.
The Politics of Panic are Far Deadlier Than the Coronavirus
If they’re right about Trump’s credibility, they’re pointing to a feature, not a bug. The last thing we need is an impetuous political response to COVID-19. The coronavirus is neither a national emergency nor a public health crisis in the US. Absent heavy-handed government involvement it’s unlikely to become either.
Politics is Still Stupid
The combination of Public Choice theory, which explains how politics works and why it doesn’t, and understanding social change, plus lived experience of working in politics, policy, education, and finally entrepreneurship have made it abundantly clear to me that politics is at best a ridiculous spectator sport. At worst a terrible addiction that makes you an asshole and a moron all at once.
Falling Back on Principle
Sometimes it takes awhile to fashion a topic, so I search Google for the keyword “politics,” using the “news” tab. Now I’m struggling to define for myself what are the differences among a regular news day and a slow news day and a no news day and a fake news day. But this is clear, there is no difference between yesterday’s news day and today’s news day.
John Fargo: Charity in the Land of Individualism (18m)
This episode features an audio essay written by John Fargo in 1992, which comprises Chapter 6 of Everything Voluntary: From Politics to Parenting, edited by Skyler J. Collins and published in 2012.
Glimpses of Hidden America
I don’t believe the “United States” has very much to do with a good vision of America. The bureaucrats and the enforcers typically just control, manipulate, and harass. The politicians grandstand, and the legislation corrupts and impoverishes. The corporate types join in. But there’s a whole lot more to America than the government, the big corporations, or the culture wars. I catch little glimpses of this “hidden America” here and there.
Moral Approximates
Careful examination of real-world conflict does occasionally uncover not moral equivalents, but moral approximates. Though the two sides’ moral status is not precisely equal, they are morally more-or-less the same.
Don’t Scare Kids with Political Fears
It would be great if adults would stop acting like scared children; overreacting about politics, science, and other things they don’t understand as well as they imagine they do. This pattern repeats both locally and on a global scale.