Co-editor Fred Foldvary explains why gas prices are so high at the moment.
David Henderson keeps his eye on the ball when it comes to higher gas prices.
Co-blogger Jacques Delacroix has his suspicions as well.
Links
Somalia and Anarchy: Links Edition
- I am too lazy to write much more on Somalia right now (you can always check out my latest piece again if you are really itching for something satisfying), so I have compiled a list of great pieces I have read over the past couple days on Somalia, Anarchy, and the idea that post-colonial states ought to fail more often than not.
- Jeffrey Herbst and Greg Mills argue over in Foreign Policy that the Congolese state needs to fail if the region is to ever know peace again.
- Over in the New York Times, Alex de Waal argues along the same lines that I have: that Somalia as it stands is a bad idea, and that much more decentralization is needed for it to effectively flourish.
- The Mises Institute has two wonderful articles (one by an anthropologist and one by a lawyer) on why anarchy has been great for Somalia, despite the government interventions imposed upon the Somalis by the West over the past two decades (and, really, much longer than that, but I digress).
- Political Economist Chris Blattman raises the flag of caution, though. How do we really know that more states will be better for the people living in these regions?
- Co-editor Fred Foldvary defends anarchism’s good name after the (government-initiated) looting in Iraq.
- And last but not least, Cato Unbound, one of my favorite places to visit, had an excellent symposium on anarchism awhile back (like, 5 years ago). Here is Pete Leeson’s lead essay, in which Somalia is specifically used to illustrate his points. Be sure to read the responses of the other members in the exchange, too.
Have a great weekend, and have fun with all the reading! One of the things that really bothers me is the example of Somalia that is thrown out in favor of government over liberty. I really hate having to take the time to explain to people that the problems in Somalia are created by the government! It’s like screaming at a brick wall…
Assorted Links on Mormon Baptisms for the Dead
Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA, says “so what?”
Ari Cohen, a Political Scientist professor at the Univ. of Nebraska, says “how offensive!”
Over at the American Conservative, Rod Dreher says “so what?”
I’ve already gone over this myself, and I am sure that many, many other people have as well, but I just don’t see what is so offensive about baptizing dead people via proxy. Yes, it is a bit condescending, but we are talking about religion here, right?
This seems to me to be a clear case of Leftist intolerance to other religions. How many Leftists do you see decrying the Obama administration for forcing religious institutions to provide contraceptive care against their wishes?
The Left can often be good at protecting the freedom of religion, but Mormon proxy baptisms and forced payments for contraceptive care are examples where the Left errs. And badly, too.
Bizarre Love Triangle: Towards a New Internationalism
Isolationist screeds in the United States are extremely rare these days, which, in my opinion, makes those who promote this noble doctrine to be individuals of exceptional character. I am a regular reader of the blog Eunomia (authored by Dr. Daniel Larison), which explicates isolationist critiques of current foreign policy (among other things), and I always enjoy what Dr. Larison has to say.
I also happen to find it rather odd that I am often slandered by my sparring partners on both the Left and the Right as being an isolationist, for one reason or another. I wouldn’t particularly mind being called such, except for the fact that, for reasons I hope to clarify shortly, my positions are hardly in line with those of the paleoconservative isolationists that I have grown to admire (if not disagree with more often than not).
The libertarian philosophy is one of individualism, internationalism, free trade, and the rule of law. My sparring partners often accuse of me of being an isolationist because of my opposition to wars and “nation-building” abroad, yet this opposition does not stem from a prejudice of robust international diplomacy. Rather, the war-weariness of libertarianism stems from the fact that war brings misery for the individual, it shatters international consensuses, it disrupts free trade, and it enables governments to ride roughshod over the rule of law in the name of security and of a centrally-planned war effort. Continue reading
Links From Around the Consortium
Jacques Delacroix continues his vendetta against Ron Paul.
Dr. Ninos Malek points out the obvious in regards to guns and public schools
Fred Foldvary has a wonderful piece in the Progress Report on Turkey joining NAFTA
Brian Gothberg (with Gregory Christainsen) writes on property rights and whaling technology
Professor Jeffrey Rogers Hummel on Ben Bernanke versus Milton Friedman (pdf) in the Independent Review
Have a great weekend!
Baptisms for the Dead: So What?
Earlier today over at Slate.com, a spontaneous debate on the curious Mormon practice of baptizing the dead happened. I actually have a lot of Mormon relatives and both of my parents aaannnd all of my siblings are Mormon too, so I always take an interest when Mormonism pops up in the news. For the record, I am not a Mormon, and even if I tried to convert, I don’t think they would let me!
Anyway, I found the way in which this debate unfolded especially heartening, because instead of bagging on Mormonism, or treating it with disrespect, the contributors actually tried to make an effort to understand why Mormons baptize the dead, and then debate why or why not this practice could be perceived to be offensive to people of other creeds. Here are some of the highlights: Continue reading
Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Humanitarian War and the Omnipotent Expert
I have made an effort in my blogging escapades to continually point out the underlying reasons for military intervention in poorer (often former colonial) states. Two things that have stood out to me are (1) the condescending display of arrogance on the part of the interventionist in regards to both differing arguments and the people involved in a conflict and (2) the high levels of confidence that these advocates have in their ability to predict the future based, presumably, on past experiences.
If you haven’t made the connection yet, these two characteristics are often exuded in Leftist intellectual circles, in Leftist popular culture, and in the Leftist’s moral compass.
Oftentimes, when I come across an advocate for humanitarian war (the doublespeak alone is enough to make me wonder), I am presented with the example of the mass slaughter of civilians in Rwanda during the ongoing conflict there in 1994. The gist of the argument seems to be two-fold: (1) that the West was hypocritical in its treatment of Rwanda and (2) that the West could have prevented, or at least, stunted, the horrific massacre of over half a million people in three months time. Continue reading
Links From Around the Consortium
Over at the Progress Report, Dr. Fred Foldvary writes on how we can extirpate poverty from the world.
Jacques Delacroix calls out Ron Paul’s statement about Iran being surrounded by the U.S. government.
Professor Jeffrey Rogers Hummel tackles the issue of slavery head-on in a Freeman article.
Brian Gothberg writes about the potential technology has to start protecting the ocean’s resources through property rights.
And our newest blogger, Dr. Ninos Malek, defends stereotyping (defending the undefendable is why I love being a libertarian!).
Great News!
Co-Editor Fred Foldvary has been invited to be a contributor to a blogging symposium about “Libertarianism and Land” put on by the Bleeding Heart Libertarians consortium. Here are the details:
I’m very pleased to announce that from April 23-27 of 2012, the Bleeding Heart Libertarian blog will be hosting a virtual symposium on the topic of “Libertarianism and Land!”
The five day event will explore different libertarian perspectives on questions pertaining to the moral justification of and limits on property rights in land. Each day will feature a keynote post from one of our main participants. The other main participants will have the opportunity to respond with posts of their own, and the general public is welcome to participate in the comments thread.
We’ve lined up some terrific people for this event. Our main participants will be:
- Eric Mack – Professor of Philosophy at Tulane University
- Hillel Steiner – Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Manchster
- Fred Foldvary – Lecturer in Economics at Santa Clara University
- Kevin Carson – Blogger and author
- David Schmidtz – Professor of Philosophy and Economics at the University of Arizona
More information to follow as the date draws nearer. I hope you’ll join us for what I think will be a fascinating discussion!
Do be sure to tune in to Bleeding Heart Libertarians all that week. I am sure that many good things will come of this, especially since Fred Foldvary was one of the few people in the world to accurately predict the housing bubble collapse based upon his knowledge and understand of land and its connection to the economy.
Links From Around the Consortium
Brian Gothberg’s piece on whaling and property rights deserves another look, as he channels Nobel laureate Ronald Coase:
According to a simple version of the Coase (1960) theorem, if the costs of transacting were very low, it would not much matter for the allocation of resources how stock rights were initially assigned. Trading ensures that rights would be put to their highest-valued uses, whatever they might be. If particular whales have more value as a source of pizza toppings than as the subject of a tourist?s photo session, whale-watching companies would be encouraged to sell any rights that they might have to whalers. If, on the other hand, particular whales have great value simply as magnificent creatures whose existence is to be nurtured and cherished, conservation groups would tend to end up with the rights to those whales.
Reality is not always simple, however. Transaction costs are sometimes high. In particular, there is a free-rider problem […]
Co-editor Fred Foldvary opines on how deregulation hurts the economy. This is perhaps the best piece I have found on regulation and its effects on the economy at large.
I found this piece by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel on President Martin van Buren, whom he calls the ‘American Gladstone’. If you’re itching for some historical information on one of the American republic’s little known presidents, I recommend you grab a cup of coffee and enjoy.
And, not to be outdone, Jacques Delacroix asks if the French have it better. He is specifically referring to the debt-to-GDP ratios of France and the U.S. The whole thing is good throughout, more so because Delacroix professes to hate the French.
Secular Theocracy Part 2
One of our co-bloggers, Jacques Delacroix, has suggested that I pass the following argument along. It has been written by the founder and president of the Independent Institute, a highly respected think tank in Oakland, California. From Delacroix’s blog:
Below is the link to the second part of an article by David Theroux I posted a couple of weeks ago. David Theroux is the founder of the Independent Institute and its current president. I have major differences with the Institute about American foreign policy but Theroux is well worth reading anyway.
The second link below is to the whole article with footnotes.
Part 2:
http://blog.independent.org/2012/01/12/secular-theocracy-the-foundations-and-folly-of-modern-tyranny-part-2/The full article with footnotes is here:
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=3206
I remember browsing through Part 1 of Mr. Theroux’s essay (thanks to Delacroix’s heads-up), but I will have to read them both when school lets up. If you have any thoughts on the argument, feel free to post away in the ‘comments’ section!
Rainy Day
Here is a quick list of links around the web from our bloggers at the consortium:
Fred Foldvary weighs in on the 2011 Nobel Prize winners in Economics
Some Possible Consequences of a U.S. Government Default by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel
One of Jacques Delacroix’s famous short stories (and this co-editor’s personal favorite)
Brian Gothberg introduced me to Colossus: The Forbin Project at a summer seminar in 2009
I hope everybody stays dry out there!
Laundry Day!
Links from around the web by the consortium.
Brian Gothberg wants to save the whales.
In an oldie but goodie, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel writes about Federal Reserve accounting and insolvency.
Jacques Delacroix feels remorse for singing the praises of Newt Gingrich.
And Fred Foldvary gives his take on the Israel-Palestine mess.
Happy Friday, and enjoy your weekends!
