Some of my favorite memories of working at my company include the chores that “weren’t my job”: moving boxes, ordering lunch, restocking the fridge, doing A/Vs setup, doing customer support, even sitting at the front desk.
Tag: responsibility
Liberty Doesn’t Mean “With Permission”
I’ve once again encountered one of those people who likes to believe that the word “liberty” means something along the lines of “with the permission of an authority“. This is mostly based upon the military’s long-standing intentional misuse of the word.
Keep Some Self-Sufficiency In Your Life
I used to dream about becoming “self-sufficient” – growing and making most everything myself. And I put in a good amount of daydreaming time and real work toward that, raising all kinds of poultry, growing a garden, reading books on farm skills. Then I learned economics.
You Don’t Have The Right to Violate Others
Your rights never include violating the equal and identical rights of others. I don’t have the right to violate your rights on my property, so you don’t have that right, either. That right can’t exist, by the nature of rights. You have the responsibility to not violate other people’s rights while exercising your rights.
Addiction vs. Fascination
The word “addiction” is sorely overused in our society. Any time someone spends in an inordinate amount of time on something, those who are annoyed by it will call it an “addiction” and proceed to, in one way or another, shame the person. This seems foolish.
Moral Philosophy and Deer Hunting
Set aside the ethics of hunting itself, and you find that within the act of hunting, there’s a whole world of right and wrong. Tonight I sat in a tower stand for hours without seeing any activity from the deer population. Then, right as darkness fell, three deer came out. All of a sudden I had some decisions to make.
Optimality versus Fire
Public choice economists have long argued that conventional economists hold markets to far higher standards than they hold government. Markets “fail” unless they’re optimal. Governments “succeed” unless they’re on fire.
The Politician’s Dodge
If you increase a thing recursively (for instance, government bureaucracy), you can make it both larger and more complex. You can make it so that only its denizens can operate it. The principle dodge of the politician is to promise some fundamental change in this kaleidoscopic mess.
Your Rights End Where the Rights of Others Begin
The ONLY responsibility others have with regards to your rights is to not violate them. To not ban books, to not declare a War on Politically Incorrect Drugs, or establish medical licensing or an FDA, to respect private property, and to not make up anti-gun “laws” of any kind. If they are doing something which actually interferes with your rights, they are the bad guys.
Cultivate a Healthy Fear of FOMO
Fear of missing out: it’s what took me out onto Broadway in Nashville Saturday night, after I knew I should have been going home. It’s what almost made me go out tonight instead of finishing a long-term project. It’s what has helped me to procrastinate on some important things in my life instead of buckling…