A Rawlsian Trick

In A Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, 1971), the philosopher John Rawls proposed an account of justice that, in his view, was better than the competing theories, viz., utilitarianism, which says you should act by what will lead to the best consequences, and “deontological” theories that appealed to rights. Opponents of utilitarianism raised various problems for it, e.g., that applying it sometimes led to counterintuitive results.

How Herbert Hoover Became Known as an Economic Non-Interventionist

In Southern California, the I-15 freeway leads from Southern California to Las Vegas. It is not unusual for cars to travel at 80+ miles per hour on this road. My Granddad Bill told me once that he and my grandma were driving home from a trip to Las Vegas and were passed by another car “like we were sitting still.” To guesstimate how fast the other car was going, my granddad looked down and saw that he was already going 110 mph without even realizing it.