Friday Philosophy

Displaying 1 - 10 of 19

phil

Property Rights and the Pollution Problem

PhilosophyProperty Rights

02/25/2021Friday Philosophy
At what point does a "trivial" violation of property rights become a major problem? There is not an easy answer.
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phil

Are There Any Limits to Natural Rights?

LawPhilosophy and Methodology

02/19/2021Friday Philosophy
Opponents of natural rights often claim that natural rights aren't real because these rights have no clear boundaries. They claim we need a state to set these limits. Rothbard demonstrated that this claim is weak at best.
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phil

The Problem with "You Own What You Make"

LibertarianismPhilosophyProperty RightsPhilosophy and Methodology

02/12/2021Friday Philosophy
In my view the language of “homesteading” of persons (i.e., children) is best abandoned. Retaining it causes confusion, and nothing essential to the theory is lost by giving it up.
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phil

William Graham Sumner Was No "Social Darwinist"

Philosophy and Methodology

02/05/2021Friday Philosophy
William Graham Sumner did not believe in "social Darwinism" as his critics think, but rather that to survive, people must organize themselves in a society. Sumner is right.
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phil

What Rights Do Future Generations Have?

Philosophy and Methodology

01/29/2021Friday Philosophy
Many say economics must focus on preserving resources for distant future generations. They say climate change is why. That's may seem convincing in the abstract, but we soon learn how hard it is to predict future needs, and to ignore present ones.
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phil

Only Ideological Change Can Make the World a More Peaceful Place

Philosophy and Methodology

01/22/2021Friday Philosophy
Given that so much of the world is in the grip of false ideologies, what can we do? Mises says that the answer does not lie in international organizations or treaties. “It is futile to place confidence in treaties, conferences, and…bureaucratic outfits"
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phil

A World without Political Leaders?

Philosophy and Methodology

01/15/2021Friday Philosophy
Manent insists that if political leaders don’t lead society, we will have a society that isn’t led by political leaders. So what?
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phil

Freedom vs. the Collective

Philosophy and Methodology

01/08/2021Friday Philosophy
Many support democracy because for them the collective or “republican” liberty they favor far exceeds individual liberty in importance. Those of us who follow Mises and Rothbard will disagree.
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phil

Mises and Philosophical Minimalism

Philosophy and Methodology

01/01/2021Friday Philosophy
Mises defends praxeology using philosophical minimalism, that is, by sticking to the core fact that people act and make choices.
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phil

Mill: Socialism Could Work for More Advanced People

Philosophy and Methodology

12/25/2020Friday Philosophy
Though he was generally a Ricardian, John Stuart Mill thought that the main obstacle to socialism is that people might not yet be civilized enough to put it into practice.
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