What We Can Know About the World
Because man has always gone amiss in his attempts to bridge the gulf between mind and matter, he must adopt a dualistic approach — or methodological dualism.
The Non-Mystery of Inflation
Nothing at all is mysterious about inflation; it is government intervention pure and simple. Why, then, do government leaders continue to inflate? And why do the printing presses go undetected by the general public?
Omnipotent Government
Mises illustrates his case with a review of the fall of Germany, from the collapse of classical liberalism to the rise of nationalism and socialism. But Germany merely constitutes an early example of the things to come.
Barack Obama Ensures a Long Depression
Barack Obama has said, “I will not rest until all Americans who want to work can.” Yet Mr. Obama’s policies belie his words. In fact, what his administration is doing will ensure economic stagnation.
Three Cheers for ‘Petty’ Concerns
My 7-year old daughter asked me the other day whether I was born before email. “Yes,” I confessed. Then she quickly followed up: “Where you born before plastic?” “No,” I said, “I was born after plastic but before email.” Satisfied that she had placed me within the structure of the history of the world, she went back to her weekend play.
They’re Not Called Turkeys For Nothing
Last year, Salon.com announced that it was very fashionable to fry your Thanksgiving turkey, a tip which the truly fashionable regarded as at least 12 months out of date. For those out of the loop — not that it matters now — frying involves injecting the turkey with hot sauce and submerging it in 6 gallons of lard heated to 450 degrees.
Time and Justice
Hit-in-the-head movies are usually pathetic. Some guy takes a fall and learns to see the world a new way, which invariably involves becoming more politically correct and marrying a feminist or some such. “Memento” is not to be confused with one of these. It is surely one of the most brilliant and innovative films to come along in years.
Libertarianism in Ancient China
To the individualist Lao Tzu, government, with its “laws and regulations more numerous than the hairs of an ox,” was a vicious oppressor of the individual, and “more to be feared than fierce tigers.”
Cash for Cranks
This post is one in a series entitled Posthumous Refutations. Previously in this series: The Starvation Brink, Victorian England, and the Santa Claus Principle.
Jerry Pournelle on Copyright, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica
On the latest This Week in Tech, guest panelist and sci-fi author Jerry Pournelle has an interesting anecdote about his involvement with a copyright squabble between Fox and Universal in the 1970s concerning Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. As noted on Wikipedia:
