Some Reflections on Liberal Democracy, Political Meritocracy, and Critical Rationalism

06/07/202206/07/2022 Federico Sosa Valle Politics critical rationalism, David Hume, government, human nature, justice, legal norms, legitimacy, liberal democracy, meritocracy, virtue

We live in times in which the liberal democracy is challenged by a sort of political meritocracy according to which a performance legitimacy — i.e., the utility that government management brings to the population – would be more important than the legitimacy of origin, based on the consent of the sovereign people. Thus, economic growth … Continue reading Some Reflections on Liberal Democracy, Political Meritocracy, and Critical Rationalism

Liberal Democracies and Authoritarian Regimes: The Case for Law Enforcement. (Part 2 of 12)

04/14/202104/13/2021 Federico Sosa Valle Law, Liberty David Hume, F.A. Hayek, legal norms, virtue

Obviously, there is a whole question of information and transaction costs surrounding the game between empirical social norms and positive legal norms. The former are more agile and immediate, better adapted to the circumstances, but at the same time they are not enough to guarantee peace when the interests at stake gain social relevance. There … Continue reading Liberal Democracies and Authoritarian Regimes: The Case for Law Enforcement. (Part 2 of 12)

Liberal Democracies and Authoritarian Regimes: The Case for Law Enforcement.

This essay aims to highlight that the low generalized application of positive legal norms in any legal system, by allowing greater discretion on the part of the public powers, leads to a gradual increase in the levels of authoritarianism, both on the part of governments and of society itself.

A Reflection on Information and Complex Social Orders

04/10/202004/10/2020 Federico Sosa Valle Current Events, Liberty civil law, common law, coronavirus, democracy, information, pandemics, public health, public policy, rule of law, social orders, technology

In the year 2020, occidental democracies face a time of lock-downs, social distancing, and a sort of central planning based on epidemiological models fueled by testing methodologies. An almost uniform consensus on the policy of “flattening the curve and raising the line” spread worldwide, both in the realms of politics and science. Since the said … Continue reading A Reflection on Information and Complex Social Orders

Does business success make a good statesman?

04/17/201711/13/2018 Federico Sosa Valle Law, Philosophy entrepreneurship, F.A. Hayek, Gary Becker, knowledge problem, legal theory, separation of powers

Gary Becker made the distinction between two types of on-the-job training: general and specific. The former consist of the skills of wide applicability, which enable the worker to perform satisfactorily different kinds of jobs: to keep one’s commitments, to arrive on time to work, to avoid disturbing behavior, etc.. All of them are moral traits … Continue reading Does business success make a good statesman?