tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37271302011-12-27T11:06:46.446-05:00Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comBlogger4531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-36089236586942009592011-12-27T11:01:00.002-05:002011-12-27T11:06:46.455-05:00

The Fundamental ErrorBig, unlimited government causes corruption in business and government to thrive. Heavy and byzantine regulation and taxation turn government into a crony-capitalist, fascistic, money-laundering operation. We're all familiar with this. This is the issue. If you're a liberal, you see this issue in terms of the rich being on the take and the poor getting left behind.The error

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-91040682329891193682011-10-04T09:42:00.003-04:002011-10-05T10:13:26.970-04:00

Social ContractThe left is talking about social contract. The idea is that the rich didn't really earn their money alone. They earned it partly because they relied on workers and the government. So they should to give a lot more of the money to the government than they already do and the government will distribute the funds to the workers in the form of welfare payments.Unfortunately, this

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-11672626769801153922011-04-25T00:10:00.005-04:002011-04-25T01:57:15.708-04:00

ImaginationTake account of the plethora of opportunities available to you; use your imagination. The liberty to be oneself is of unsurpassed preciousness. What threatens it is big government, criminals, poverty, war and similarly debilitating conditions in which a person or circumstances rule over a person, making him unable to fulfill himself in his life. This liberty is a crown jewel in Western

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-17148158778436443982011-02-21T01:06:00.002-05:002011-02-21T01:21:02.026-05:00

The Term RightI'm thinking of the political noun, such as it is, not the moral adjective which we use to describe actions. The political noun is rubbish at this point.The term has been perverted through long use of a certain type, namely to denote the competitor to the leftist using the therm. This competitor could be law-and-order societies stamping down on the leftist's goal of disorder or

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-67005659013141403302010-11-26T17:28:00.002-05:002010-11-26T17:38:29.695-05:00

Scott LaFaro 1961If you are interested in traveling to the site of LaFaro's death on the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, July 6, 2011, please contact me via email (see my blogger profile for email address.) It would be good to pay tribute.LaFaro changed jazz bass playing before he died at 25. Through his innovation, he made my life as a bass player immeasurably better. I can hear the melodies

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-24901663132641796982010-11-20T08:54:00.001-05:002010-11-20T08:57:53.935-05:00

Leftist Dogma and its DerangementsThe left loses every time on philosophical principles and on historical and economic facts. This is why they usually offer nothing more than imaginative and deranged expressions of antipathy towards conservatism. They can't disprove that Man has unalienable rights to liberty and property. They can't disprove that big government devolves into wasteful kleptocratic

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-77449529979716193762010-11-07T11:04:00.003-05:002010-11-07T11:45:17.388-05:00

Crap You BelieveYou actually believe this stuff:FDR ended the Great Depression with extensive regulation and high spending.Democrats care about the poor and non-whites, not corporations. Republicans care about corporations, not the poor or non-whites.If you tax at lower rates, you get less revenue. If you raise taxes, you get more revenue.Republicans are the party of No. They have no policy

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-54128816035638899382010-11-05T17:13:00.002-04:002010-11-05T17:30:08.730-04:00

LeftismYou're a leftist, not a liberal. Liberalism died 100 years ago.Leftism is not so much a political philosophy as psychological attitude composed of a contempt for the poor and a hatred for conservatives. This is why it flourishes unencumbered by the facts of history and economics and by the lack of philosophical basis (cf. the conspicuous failure of Rawls's attempt at proof.) Why would

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-4422777207159138362010-11-03T10:10:00.000-04:002010-11-03T10:11:18.924-04:00

The Patient StirsThe patient is in a stupor, the victim of a malicious poisoning.He tries to wake up, his only chance at survival. Stirring, he opens his eyes - glazed, pleading, panicked, a fire burning deeply in each one, yet only partially focused on what lies before them. A leg jerks. A hand grasps. Some sounds are heard, sincere and urgent, yet garbled and muddled. The eyelids narrow once

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-79776509147544249642010-10-04T19:41:00.002-04:002010-10-04T19:42:07.568-04:00

Kekes, On the Human Condition IIYour well-being depends upon fulfilling the values you hold dear, and this fulfillment depends upon your being in control of yourself. You must correct the beliefs, motives, and emotions which do not map appropriately to this set of values. This is the control of yourself which you must have.Of course, mistakes will be made. You might change attitudes in a

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-39066508918538648652010-10-03T01:18:00.027-04:002011-09-13T11:11:06.676-04:00

A Case Against Premarital SexThis is to say, while one is in the courting and childrearing age, to have sex with a person before deciding that he is a good marriage choice for oneself. Of course, it is a matter of consenting adults not harming anyone without his full understanding and enthusiastic concurrence. So, the way this act is wrong is by being a very bad choice for oneself, not by being a

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-7205040556699060502010-07-30T23:55:00.003-04:002010-07-31T00:16:17.856-04:00

Kekes, On the Human Condition IIThere is an enormous world of brute physical events and objects, having no significance or value in themselves and independently of what any conscious being thinks or desires. In this midst of this there is a tiny place we carve out in which events and things matter to us because we are beings who have preferences that things to go one way for us rather than

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-14670703841260502912010-07-29T23:23:00.002-04:002010-07-29T23:33:42.944-04:00

Kekes, On the Human Condition IWe continue our series of looks at John Kekes’s books. His A Case for Conservatism is required reading. You can tuck into the archives for other posts in this series. These posts aren’t reviews or summaries, although they briefly describe the books chapter by chapter. Rather, they are my own musings. This year On the Human Condition appeared. Let’s take a look.Kekes

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-37600341703941505832010-04-07T22:57:00.003-04:002010-04-08T14:04:16.416-04:00

We Hold These Truths To Be Self-EvidentHuman nature being understood, and moral language being understood, one can make some observations.Human beings are more likely to thrive under conditions of liberty. The chances of fulfilling a person's preferences by coercing him are much lower than his own chances of fulfilling his preferences by his own discovery of those preferences, decision as to how

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-34730151047794257352010-04-03T07:44:00.003-04:002010-04-03T08:03:38.651-04:00

Some Points about Human NatureBut to get back. I just have a few points about human nature.Human nature includes a set of desires. These are wired in, with various degrees of intractability and malleability. The set is a cluster: a set with a set of sensible connections amongst its members. By “sensible” I mean reasonable, told in a cogent story, fulfilled in a way that can be explained, told as

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-26074536122072366472009-12-23T15:02:00.005-05:002009-12-23T22:56:26.215-05:00

Palin and Death PanelsYou thought Sarah Palin was a ditzy broad when she said there would be death panels in the Democrats' health insurance bureaucracy. Why did you think that? Because she's pretty?Anyway, there are death panels in the senate bill and Reid wrote them in there so that they can't be repealed without 67 votes. He did? Let's see what Palin has to say about it.But the bill raises

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-84625873329493345622009-12-22T21:55:00.005-05:002009-12-23T16:53:47.245-05:00

Sentimentalism, Conservatism, and Human NatureThe question is: What gives the basis for conservative values? Why not pursue a fetish as the progressive does? Well, the progressive is really a tool of a kleptocrat, but leaving that aside, can't he quixotically pursue his ideology's fulfillment as reasonably as the conservative pursues the preservation of the large set of values which he cherishes?

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-57441377076812796862009-12-22T21:49:00.003-05:002009-12-23T12:45:41.809-05:00

Climate FraudIt's little-guy scientists against big oil $$$, right? Sure:The Climate Industry: $79 billion so far – Trillions to come. You're getting taken to the cleaners. Oh, well. But you won't change your mind. Because you hate rich oil executives. And Americans who drive but SUVs. You prefer the style and emotion of your political views. The science and reasoning aren't really all that

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-2337176272673136242009-12-20T20:29:00.002-05:002009-12-20T20:34:04.422-05:00

Leftism/Progressivism: There's No Such ThingThere is only kleptocracy. The followers in a kleptocracy believe it is leftist/progressive. The leaders do not. The leaders use their followers. They are useful idiots. The leaders want power and money. The followers want gratification of their envies.There is kleptocracy. Useful idiots fantasize that it is something called "leftism" or "progressivism.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-89105140557451637842009-12-13T10:22:00.008-05:002009-12-13T12:54:17.959-05:00

Climate ChangeAre you an easy mark for a con-man who wants a few grand from you every year (and from your kids and from their kids)? Don't be.But you'll still vote for decimating the American economy and crushing the hopes of development in the Third World. Because none of your friends aren't liberals and if you don't believe in AGW they'll think you are a weirdo and make you feel guilty. That's

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-38608860031893165312009-12-12T00:36:00.002-05:002009-12-12T00:57:19.910-05:00

Some Climategate LinksWhile the wealthy are lavishing $200M or so on themselves in Copenhagen this week, there is also this:Hiding the decline.How to make a fake hockey stick.WSJ.Scientists behaving badly.It's fraud. It's kleptocracy. The AGW industry is big money. Fortunes are being made, as well as pseudo-scientific careers.The ass kicker? Suppose it is a fact that there is AGW and it's a

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-24578641857272508432009-11-26T11:28:00.013-05:002009-11-26T19:54:41.067-05:00

ClimategateIt turns out you were lied to by the IPCC gang. Follow the money. And the power.To catch up start with these articles by Charles Martin, all of them.Then, read this post and all subsequent posts on that site. Guess who's money supported this CRU "research"? Yours.For afters, don't miss this. And this.You've been had. And now your economy is about to be crushed by Crap and Tax. Follow

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-16970445542842117102009-11-25T10:12:00.004-05:002009-11-25T12:58:53.400-05:00

Things You BelieveAnthropogenic Global Warming is pretty well confirmed by the scientific evidence. Our release of CO2 has caused the climate to warm. There is no evidence to the contrary.Cap and Trade is a great idea. It will create jobs, lowering the unemployment rate, and help cool the planet.The belief that economic stimulus - spending by the federal government in order to stimulate the

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-73513987067754385922009-11-15T22:35:00.000-05:002009-11-15T22:36:05.446-05:00

KettleNo, really.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-51993763763282959912009-11-05T16:55:00.003-05:002009-11-06T13:30:53.650-05:00

Bigwig?It's making a sound. Can't poke it because it's made of cyberpixels. Just have to wait. The world's most bestest blogger stirs. Prolly it'll just roll over and go back to sleep, which is just fine. Thy will be done!

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-5889128882364752352009-11-02T14:49:00.004-05:002009-11-04T17:17:37.748-05:00

Peter Bocking RIPFare thee well, PeterUK.RIP, Mr. Bocking.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-15989815523526624712009-10-28T22:12:00.007-04:002009-10-28T22:41:12.946-04:00

Conservatism is in the Middle of a WebThere is a web of values which we have inherited from our ancestors, a large set which form the moral substance of the ways of life which we love and which make for good and decent lives. They hang together in mutual support in the way that a the strands of a spider web do.Unfortunately, some of the strands may be pursued monomaniacally. Fetishizing one value

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-59021834251879871722009-10-14T20:33:00.003-04:002009-10-14T20:43:28.472-04:00

Conservatism is IndexicalReader Stephen Krueger writes in:I've read some of John Ray's writings on the meaning of "right" and "left". What I took away from it is he was defining them as conservative and progressive, respectively. Conservatism meaning a general temper for experience or what came before, and progressivism meaning a temper for changing the standing order. The terms are not to be

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-77127389897567958952009-10-13T16:13:00.002-04:002009-10-13T16:35:47.058-04:00

The Cause of the Financial Crisis Was Government InterferenceI notice that some people continue to blame "greedy" businessmen and underregulation of the market for the crisis. The idea is that it was they and not the CRA that caused the crisis. One fact adduced in favor of this theory is that most of the bad loans did not go to poor people. That's as deep as the theory goes. It's very shallow,

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-57970860804337335032009-09-23T21:01:00.002-04:002009-09-23T21:47:01.508-04:00

Palin in Hong KongHere are some excerpts. Point after point, spot on.Fuller excerpt here.More Palin, please.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-52803189811264492582009-09-20T11:37:00.003-04:002009-09-20T11:41:09.140-04:00

Karl DenningerHere he sums up his last year or so of blogging. It ain't pretty.If you haven't been following Denninger, dip into his archives. It ain't pretty.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-6716306692327094602009-09-07T20:51:00.000-04:002009-09-07T20:52:05.364-04:00

Simplicius on Right and LeftGo. Go and read.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-8210288782066676072009-09-06T18:38:00.013-04:002009-09-07T00:18:32.559-04:00

The Meaninglessness of "Right" and "Left"Let's finish up this story.If you want to use the terms "right" and "left," you have a decision to make. The early 20th C. fascists were on the "right" in common English. It has been demonstrated that they were also on the left, but that doesn't disprove the former point. Under these circumstances, "left" and "right" are incoherent or at least too confused

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-40012634200230251492009-09-06T11:20:00.002-04:002009-09-06T11:30:01.294-04:00

It's a JokeCan we please stop pretending that the Obama Adminstration (such as it is) is not a joke?Okay? Okay.What kind of administration hires an avowed communist and 911 Truther as czar? The joke kind.What kind of an administration quadruples the deficit from under $400B to a trillion or two every year? The joke kind.It's not an administration. It's a joke. The joke is on you, your kids and

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-86141955818823986792009-09-05T20:13:00.002-04:002009-09-05T20:16:26.299-04:00

Dostoyevsky, AlinskySimplicius has an interesting post.Conservative writers have recently made much of Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals (1971), hoping to show that moves being made currently are not innocent of revolutionary intent. They are not wrong in this, but their case is actually stronger than they seem to realize. Alinsky’s tactics were not original, they had actually been developed over

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-26464411105256692642009-08-29T14:28:00.011-04:002009-08-30T17:07:07.550-04:00

You Are Strangely NonchalantYou voted for these leaders. Yet you are strangely nonchalant about their spending habits and the damage they are doing to the economy. Why?Perhaps you weren't really upset about the GOP spending too much but merely used the issue as a brickbat to express your mindless rage. For now you are strangely quiet. Meanwhile, others get it:We are probably moving into a

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-90678626880738680982009-08-27T07:03:00.003-04:002009-08-27T07:29:46.288-04:00

You've Been HadVDH sums it up.You voted for a charlatan who had never accomplished anything in his life and who has difficulty speaking in paragraphs when the teleprompter isn't around. Yes, you are really that shallow and ignorant. He tripled the deficit. The depression will be your fault. And the double-digit unemployment which will last for years. And the rationing of health-care. Perhaps we

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-80949133463332675912009-08-26T17:45:00.002-04:002009-08-26T17:59:19.704-04:00

Just Keep ScrollingDennis is on a roll these days.Have a read.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-33333357599510275932009-08-21T21:40:00.005-04:002009-08-21T21:49:57.748-04:00

You're Getting PlayedYou are getting played for a fool. But then, you elected him, so why wouldn't he assume you were a fool?Take a look at Palin on tort reform. Specific problem, specific solution.Also, how about making it illegal for states to stop health insurance companies from selling across state lines? How about giving tax write-offs for catastrophic insurance but not for full insurance?

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-36572234762399254952009-08-21T09:56:00.004-04:002009-08-21T15:21:33.045-04:00

PosersDennis is right a lot. Indeed. If you're an economic egalitarian you have a duty to impoverish yourself by giving all of your excess money to charity. Either there is an injustice in your having more than someone else or there isn't.Not a single leftist complies with this duty. They're all malcontents and posers.Okay, the tedious objection: "We object to the system as it is. It's not fair

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-24056573131755119062009-08-17T09:42:00.002-04:002009-08-17T09:57:24.257-04:00

BlogsStop by M. K. Freeberg's. Free stuff to think about. No nonsense.May I suggest Dennis? I call him DtheP, as Samuel called him in the old days. Dennis will cut through the day's news for you. Using implements such as a chainsaw, flamethrower, bulldozer, a nuke.New kid on the block, a philosopher: Simplicius Simplicissimus.Heh. These guys' blogs are feeling the awesome power of the philolanche

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-46875893550372584902009-08-16T17:40:00.006-04:002009-08-17T00:06:21.150-04:00

Whoops a DaisyPresidents of Canadian Medical Association: We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize," [incoming CMA president] Doig told The Canadian Press."We know that there must be change," she said. "We're all running flat out, we're all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands."Oh, my. His

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-17745787368011776062009-08-16T14:48:00.005-04:002009-08-17T09:06:14.089-04:00

Rasmussen:Overall, 47% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-two percent (52%) disapprove.Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove....Gee, I can't think why. When he said his health care bill would save us money and the CBO said, "Um, no. It will explode the deficit," Obama said, "Great, Congress better have it on my desk next week for me to sign.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-44604340094385105992009-08-16T14:39:00.001-04:002009-08-16T14:41:02.698-04:00

Hennesy Analyzes the Health Care BillRead the whole thing.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-13310973689828375912009-08-15T20:20:00.005-04:002009-08-15T21:16:01.355-04:00

But It's Not FascismWhat is it called when big business gets strong-armed by a socialist party to give up dough and political patronage? Kleptocracy? Ah, yes. Fascism.Oh, really? Oh, really. Sadly, yes.Well, you voted for this asshole because you wanted hope and change, because he was black, and because your resentment of perceived Republican "wars for oil" gave you a sense of moral purpose which

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-10502788877391213652009-08-14T23:25:00.002-04:002009-08-14T23:38:14.098-04:00

DtheP: Nailed...Well, yeah.I'll say it again: Barack Obama is an utterly conventional, inside-the-box thinker. He has spent a life time carefully studying, and then dutifully repeating, what he was taught by his Leftist Elders. For doing so, he was handsomely rewarded.Now Obama is called to do something he has never done before - think for himself - and he is at sea. And because he cannot think

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-37620293999421875082009-08-13T08:43:00.002-04:002009-08-13T08:54:16.526-04:00

Why Oppose Government Health CareThese are the reasons (from a comment I left over at JOM):1. Individuals have a right to form private insurance contracts without undue interference by federal and state government. These rights are already being violated and will be even more seriously violated under the proposed enormous increase in government interference.2. Insurance companies have a right to

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-36381741011529097802009-08-12T13:52:00.003-04:002009-08-12T14:04:11.462-04:00

Oops, Someone Read the Health Care BillJohn Lewis read the bill. It's not pretty. If you support the bill, then you support waste, rationing and lack of individual control of health care. Desire to insure the five million Americans who can't get health insurance couldn't explain such an action. Only resentment of wealthy people could explain it. It is only when we are driven by resentment do we

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-67061582519156309252009-08-11T20:19:00.005-04:002009-08-12T00:09:13.796-04:00

Lefist Modus Operandi1. The leftist will brand conservative opponents as "right wing" - somehow fringe, extreme. The irony is that right and left are flavors of socialism - one fascistic and one communistic. So, anyone in the leftist's audience who accepts that conservatives are "right wing" is deeply confused. The leftist is able to drive the confused audience away from conservatism by depicting

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-22424148424841347672009-08-09T11:49:00.004-04:002009-08-09T13:31:57.153-04:00

Leftist Modus Operandi: Mortgage and Health CareFirst take a few decades of using government to interfere with the free market, creating "crises."For example, over-regulate the mortgage industry by lowering interest rates, putting pressure on banks to make mortgages to people who can't afford them, and creating MBS and CDS in order to sop up the risk. Don't worry, there will be a hole in the plan

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-88028450670318756582009-08-09T10:56:00.002-04:002009-08-09T11:48:50.578-04:00

SuggestionRemember these values?LibertySelf-relianceHard-workPropertyCommunityCharityLimited governmentNon-covetousness (refraining from envy)The formation of society as people prefer, unrestrained by government.Anti-megalomania (e.g., George Washington)Low taxesThese are values to be treasured. Productive of good lives, protective of rights, they are at the core of American values. Cherished

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-79562476405969844462009-08-09T10:49:00.002-04:002009-08-09T10:56:19.320-04:00

Poverty and RightsEver go camping? Recall what it's like. The tent. Scraping together a fire and a latrine. No fridge. Now imagine the camping continuing for the next fifty years, or however long you lasted. That's poverty. That's dire straits.Now imagine you have a car, refrigeration, heating and air conditioning, free education through twelfth grade, and adequate medical care, nutrition, and

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-68106167623398230622009-08-07T20:48:00.002-04:002009-08-07T20:54:06.601-04:00

Your Beloved LeaderWell, you voted for this asshole. Watch the video. Yup, that's him alright.You know, it's funny. He sure seemed like an asshole when you picked him. How strange that it turned out that that's what he was.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-87700344890739143202009-08-05T22:42:00.003-04:002009-08-06T08:41:52.567-04:00

Historical Oddities: Liberty and ProsperityThey're linked. They causally reinforce one another. Oddities. More often there is oppression, poverty, disorderly anarchy, death, disease, etc. Think liberty and prosperity are here to stay, indelible features of the social world? Think you can create a bloated and wasteful government which spends more money than the private sector and have your liberty

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-56279439841045378692009-08-03T21:21:00.003-04:002009-08-03T22:30:41.959-04:00

You Are InsaneMedicare, Medicaid and Social Security are broke. We are out of money and have only creditors to float on. There is a depression. The unemployment rate will be double-digit for the foreseeable future. Yet, you want to start another government health care program on the grounds of fiscal responsibility. And you want to raise taxes. You also want to hamstring any industry which emits

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-31781362740925801182009-07-31T15:39:00.004-04:002009-08-01T12:07:41.446-04:00

Natural Law and Government Health Insurance1. Bureaucrats in the federal government aren't going to take as good care of your health as you and your personal doctor, unmolested by federal interference, would do. The government will waste much more of the wealth inserted into this system than the private sector would. It's wrong to overlook these things and to nationalize the health care system.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-8640348501975531212009-07-29T09:04:00.002-04:002009-07-29T09:23:25.553-04:00

National Food and Shelter Plan: A ProposalHealth care is a right. Every American has a right to health care. This is because health care is a basic need without which one cannot function. Yet, food and shelter are much more basic needs than health care. It is possible to live without health care if you are lucky. But you can't live without the food and shelter.Health care is a right because it's

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-17079613050051660072009-07-26T23:44:00.002-04:002009-07-27T00:38:00.527-04:00

Natural Law, Secular and IndeterminateBut to get back, let me give you a small taste of what I mean. It's pretty clear once you think about it. Though perhaps we are accustomed to natural law being fully determinate of all issues of right and wrong and also dependent upon the existence of God, neither is the case.The natural law we're considering here is of course moral law. But take an analogy

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-25028953803594073522009-07-17T22:09:00.004-04:002009-07-17T22:25:23.792-04:00

The Federal Government's Authority Over Your HealthcareThe federal government has the right to prevent you from contracting with any agency for health insurance. In other words, you do not have the right to form contracts with another party for the purpose of health insurance coverage unless the federal government gives you that right.You do not have a right to refrain from purchasing health

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-5655779592476701142009-07-17T08:39:00.002-04:002009-07-17T09:20:46.481-04:00

Natural Law and IndeterminacyThe modern American liberal feels a sensation of resentment well up in his esophagus whenever he is told that there are natural laws of morality which are written in human nature and cannot be successfully overridden by conventional morality. He consigns any such notion to antiquated religious zealotry, theocracy, and so forth, waving away any mention of the fact that

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-16738650562460760132009-07-14T22:54:00.002-04:002009-07-16T13:15:12.660-04:00

Founding Fathers QuotesArbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness. -George Washington, Circular to the States, May 9, 1753A people... who are possessed of the spirit of commerce, who see and who will pursue their advantages may achieve almost anything. -George Washington, letter to Benjamin Harrison, October 10, 1784Can you consent to wade through

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-55955170024001534902009-07-10T10:11:00.002-04:002009-07-10T10:25:32.001-04:00

With Apologies to MontesquieuAs virtue is necessary in a republic, and in a monarchy honor, so fear is necessary in a despotic government.... -MontesquieuBut if you want to have a big-government society, then you need to cultivate sloth, ignorance, guilt, envy, and a distaste for self-reliance. You need a people who are spoiled, lazy and dull. For then, not only will they not resist your

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-69435129340970317812009-05-29T11:04:00.002-04:002009-05-29T11:05:52.420-04:00

AlfieWithout true love we just exist, Alfie.Until you find the love you've missed you're nothing, Alfie.-Hal David

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-20611039621834293132009-05-27T11:32:00.005-04:002009-05-27T15:44:34.691-04:00

Positive Liberty a Vacuous Concept At Best...leftist legerdemain at worst. Here's the gist of it.First, we expand the concept of liberty to include power and wealth.Next, we show that since power and wealth are unequally distributed, liberty is unequally distributed.We then infer that those with more power and wealth are violating the right to liberty of those with less.Finally, we conclude that

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-73356563746048340802009-05-25T00:27:00.003-04:002009-05-25T09:32:26.059-04:00

The Trouble with Mill, On LibertyI hold this truth to be self-evident: that all men have rights to liberty. These are basic rights, not in need of proof or any justification other than the fact that they are obviously true and axiomatic. There being nothing that would count as evidence that a system of morals could be acceptable in which men did not have rights to liberty, we could not coherently

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-50149789549543126742009-05-21T14:57:00.002-04:002009-05-21T15:02:00.409-04:00

Charles Taylor on Positive Liberty IIIThe basic flaw in Taylor's article is his premise that the defenders of negative freedom and opponents of positive freedom shar[e]...with the rest of us in a post-Romantic civilisation which puts great value on self-realization, and values freedom largely because of this.Thus does Taylor think that such people are committed, whether they like it or not, to

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-15166417361073427592009-05-21T11:18:00.002-04:002009-05-22T08:03:26.682-04:00

Unjustly High Taxation is not SlaveryAs Hayek points out in Constitution of Liberty, power is not a species of liberty, nor is wealth. To call power or wealth by the name "liberty" is a verbal trap which will cause one to think that because people have rights to liberty, wealth should be redistributed from the rich to the poor. This is to misconstrue the right to liberty as a right to others'

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-66241883629015706222009-05-15T22:19:00.002-04:002009-05-15T22:31:28.237-04:00

Frankfurt on Freedom of the Will VLet's make a final pass over this issue of reasons for action. Frankfurt thinks that the concept of a person is of beings "capable of wanting to be different, in their preferences and purposes, from what they are." But it is impossible to make sense of what would count as reasons for wanting to be different in that way. One might wish that some of one's desires,

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-71210213698604730852009-05-14T21:39:00.002-04:002009-05-14T22:02:07.701-04:00

Frankfurt on Freedom of the Will IVYou may well ask how my alternative to Frankfurt's position of second-order desires does not itself posit second-order desires in order to explain free will. After all, haven't I said that one's will is dependent on one's wanting to maximize the net long-term fulfillment of one's first-order desires? That wanting would seem to be a second-order desire.Not so. A

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-16614979824886211812009-05-14T08:10:00.000-04:002009-05-14T08:11:35.731-04:00

Frankfurt on Freedom of the Will IIIThere is a class of people who are my superiors and whom I would therefore be reluctant to think of as lacking freedom of the will. By upbringing they do not flee in battle, do not abandon their children when childrearing is unpleasant, and do not indulge in resentment, self-defilement, or envy. It never occurs to them to do these things, in spite of any

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-21830510041393637972009-05-12T22:22:00.007-04:002009-05-13T07:48:25.716-04:00

Frankfurt on Freedom of the Will IIFrankfurt proposes an ordering of desires as a structure which explains free will. Free will, he says, is the success an agent has in choosing to act on those of his desires which he desires to be the ones he acts on. In other words, to have free will is to desire certain of your desires to determine your actions and to succeed in acting on those and not on the

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-43034674796159274932009-05-12T00:15:00.002-04:002009-05-12T00:28:40.373-04:00

Frankfurt on Freedom of the Will IThe essay, "Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person" is chapter 2 of The Importance of What We Care About.Let's broach the issue by simply laying out two points in the essay which seem to me to be mutually inconsistent:"[I]t never occurs to him to consider whether he wants the relations among his desires to result in his having the will he has."[T]he

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-14982139608528525522009-05-11T21:42:00.017-04:002009-05-12T07:38:28.625-04:00

Right/LeftOh, so I'm on the right and you're on the left? You're more towards the Bolsheviks, and I'm more towards the National Socialists, then? But you are not all the way over there with Lenin and Stalin, because you side with Hitler on some points. You're more moderate than Stalin because you tend toward the fascist on some issues, I guess. Right? We all lie somewhere on a spectrum that runs

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-18365724632833476422009-05-11T12:01:00.003-04:002009-05-11T15:06:39.770-04:00

True LoveOf course, I'm talking about romantic love, not one's love for one's children or friends or non-spouse family members. True love exists, though I'd guess it's uncommon. It's not necessary for a good marriage or a happy life. There can be good marriages in which the spouses love one another but one (or both) doesn't "truly love" the other. There are lives which lack true love but are much

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-825696004022923082009-04-09T08:35:00.007-04:002009-04-09T11:04:19.677-04:00

SacrificeLet's rehearse this business about Edith Wharton, Age of Innocence, again. Here is the passage which I mentioned a couple of years ago. It begins with Ellen Olenska:Isn't it you who made me give up divorcing - give it up because you showed me how selfish and wicked it was, how one must sacrifice one's self to preserve the dignity of marriage ....And because my family was going to be your

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-90242579903700422322009-04-05T00:25:00.008-04:002009-10-22T16:12:12.479-04:00

Charles Taylor on Positive Liberty IILet's cut the chase. Taylor's essay is about two forms of liberty which, even if they are kinds of positive liberty, are not the kind the reality of which is at issue in political philosophy. The essay is tightly argued enough and it is of interest in the analysis of individual liberty, a topic in metaphysics. But its overall importance to political philosophy

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-49555000329988990752009-04-04T12:55:00.002-04:002009-04-04T13:12:46.782-04:00

Charles Taylor on Positive Liberty IFirst off, just a short note: a point of order. Taylor attributes to the positive liberty skeptic and negative liberty proponent a strategy of denying the reality of positive liberty in order to deny totalitarian political philosophy a premise it needs. He calls this the negative liberty proponent's drawing a "Maginot Line," on the one side of which is the

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-91947594202562793652009-03-30T19:52:00.002-04:002009-03-30T20:03:31.645-04:00

Analyzing Negative and Positive LibertyOf course, the question remains, Isn't all of this just semantics? That is, what is this issue all about? It seems that everyone understands negative liberty. If some people want to call an individual's personal fulfillment or individual control of the political system "liberty," as well, who cares? There seems to be no fact of the matter about whether those

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-61801383961823376902009-03-29T23:12:00.004-04:002009-03-30T14:21:13.203-04:00

Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty IIIJust to sum up: This is a classic of 20th C political philosophy, in particular for its carefully marshaled indictment of positive liberty as a threat to negative liberty. It is also incoherent. It is also a case study in the evolution of classical liberalism into big-government liberalism, liberal statism, or, in Jonah Goldberg's phrase, liberal fascism.This

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-50230656451552990612009-03-29T10:09:00.006-04:002009-03-29T11:31:07.240-04:00

Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty IIBerlin's essay defends positive liberty vehemently, though without argumentation. One of his interpreters sees the essay as a "polemic against positive freedom" which "left his commitments to social justice unspecified" (M. Ignatieff, Berlin: A Life), while another, M. Rothbard (in The Ethics of Liberty) says, "Berlin fell into confusion, and ended by virtually

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-8035275462722237292009-03-28T21:30:00.003-04:002009-03-28T22:25:56.634-04:00

Natural Law, Conservatism, Moral Theory, and Divine Command Theory. Also, Verificationism and Moral TheoryBefore returning to Berlin on liberty, let's tie together some loose ends. Many people are confused about the concepts listed in the title of this post. Over the last few months I have posted on them. Now it's time to lay some confusions to rest. I've also owed you my post on verificationism

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-81821029448142708522009-03-25T21:50:00.010-04:002009-03-26T07:47:17.074-04:00

Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty IThis is a profound essay, a classic in political philosophy. I will suggest in this little series that it has a deep flaw, but you should read it if you have not. As I said before, it embodies part of liberalism's transition from classical liberalism evolved to big-government "liberalism." For now, two notes.Negative liberty is "not being interfered with by others

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-34163344468783135552009-03-25T19:14:00.002-04:002009-03-25T19:25:29.572-04:00

U.S. Government Moves Against Institutions of Civil Society, Requires Involuntary ServitudeThe Federal Government is attempting to divert the flow of private wealth away from private charities and to itself. It is now about to pass laws requiring that American children do work for "charitable" projects it selects (HR 1388 "Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education", S277 "Serve America

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-23271506102227461382009-03-22T19:38:00.003-04:002009-03-23T00:10:53.124-04:00

Next up at PhilosoblogNext, we'll take a look at Isaiah Berlin, "Two Concepts of Liberty." It's essential reading if you want to understand how classical liberalism evolved into big-government "liberalism."Also on our slate are examinations of Hayek on liberty and conservatism and Charles Taylor, Harry Frankfurt, and Patrick Devlin on liberty.

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-85271871229031888672009-03-22T18:16:00.002-04:002009-03-22T18:33:52.501-04:00

American ValuesLiberty and self-reliance: How often have you noticed these values being mentioned, championed, raised in the center of debate, or placed at or near the center of the set of values to which we are devoted?These are no longer core American values. They haven't been for many decades. They are central values for many Americans, but they have faded from the common set. The common set

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-2430606876629067952009-03-22T13:12:00.005-04:002009-03-22T18:16:29.107-04:00

A Government of MenSurprise! You vote for an asshole who's never accomplished anything in his life, and that's what you get. How could that have been predicted? Who would have thought that a 47-year-old man who'd never achieved anything in his life would fall flat on his face as president within weeks?Well, at least he has Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, and Chris Dodd to help him along. They

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-24353848374877845812009-03-13T23:47:00.003-04:002009-03-14T09:24:32.068-04:00

A Terrible Oversight in Mill and HayekI find myself in the uncanny position of defending liberty more stridently and absolutely than two giants of libertarianism. You see, Mill and Hayek overlooked something important: a person's right to liberty.I'm referring to On Liberty and The Constitution of Liberty. You can find a few posts below regarding the former. As for Hayek's book, I'll have a few

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-59929040454349533862009-03-05T20:41:00.003-05:002009-03-05T20:58:58.120-05:00

DepressionWe've been on the lefty bus for decades. Now it's swerving into a brick wall instead of proceeding surely towards its destination. The survivors will heal and reflect on the vices and ignorance which drove them to let the insane drive the bus. This is almost optimal. The only better scenario would have been our waking up and taking the wheel. That was not going to happen, given the vice

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-18364543171477813322009-03-05T19:37:00.003-05:002009-03-05T19:41:47.486-05:00

Philosophy BlogsWhy are you here? That's the question.No, I mean why are you here at Philosoblog? After all, there are also Bill Vallicella and Franklin Mason. Click, click!

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-70974569688598241302009-03-01T01:27:00.008-05:002009-03-06T11:32:52.423-05:00

AimingTo have set out a few goals, dear to one and fulfilling plenty of one's most coherent and persistently strong dispositions, and to have fulfilled these goals during significant part of a life enjoyed and found worthy of cherishing are feats which produce great happiness. This is the recognition of one's great fortune and extraordinary experience of fulfillment in it.In youth you figure out

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-1793344610100027542009-03-01T01:26:00.003-05:002009-03-01T01:38:30.618-05:00

Keeping what is PreciousThe reason for my recent post recommending homeschooling in order to produce people educated in American political values is that if you think in terms of time spans of several decades from now, you notice opportunities to protect what is right and good that need attention. Twenty and thirty years from now we will need people who remember what is precious of American

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-76422975542409580252009-02-28T15:15:00.003-05:002009-02-28T18:04:38.883-05:00

What NowWe're moving from 30% of GDP gummint, through 40% and will be at 50% in a few years, hobbling liberty and and hamstringing prosperty. We have a government that has taken its deficit spending from the 2008 level of $450B to $1.9T overnight and gussied this up as fiscal responsibility. The economy will be crushed under the enormous tax burden and wasteful spending. The debt will now be

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-12748293306366352352009-02-26T00:29:00.004-05:002009-05-22T11:42:05.819-04:00

Rights, Moral Reasoning, and Big Government in Mill's On LibertyMill fails to acknowledge that there are rights to be left alone to one's liberty that hold independently of projected net utility calculations. It's no surprise that a utilitarian fails to do so, yet it's no use pretending that the fact that your life is yours and not anyone else's is not a very good reason you should be left alone

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-36099528057993220582009-02-24T13:18:00.002-05:002009-02-24T13:23:02.729-05:00

You're Being Hoodwinked into SerfdomLiberty fades away imperceptibly. Within a generation or two it will no longer be mentioned. Out of sight, out of mind.One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-85467691159967626752009-02-23T01:24:00.004-05:002009-02-23T10:41:23.987-05:00

Why Conservatism Can't WinIt's a disposition to encompass many important values into the fold of moral deliberation and public policy. So, it can't have a slogan because slogans epitomize and it has no epitome. It's for carefully sifting through the facts and determining the most coherent application of the array of potentially relevant values. So, it can't prescribe simple rules or

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-55426321709656717952009-02-22T10:39:00.003-05:002009-02-24T11:12:08.785-05:00

Moral Blindness in the Credit CrunchAmerica's federal government officials refuse to acknowledge their share of the blame for the financial mess. Their share is the lion's share.Of course, many investors, bankers, and traders turned out to be stupider than their MBA degree-granting institutions would like to admit. They kept pumping up the pressure on real estate prices as if bubbles do not

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-62764611962264226962009-02-16T22:14:00.002-05:002009-02-16T22:34:36.326-05:00

Mill On Liberty and the Pressure to Conform: Too Little SubstanceIn the previous post I noted that Mill is committed, as anyone should be, to the importance of passing along traditions that promote good lives. He also rails against the pressure to conform to convention. Perhaps living in Victorian England has given him a certain perspective which we living in the era of pierced faces cannot

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-69262245474263669142009-02-16T10:54:00.004-05:002009-02-16T11:03:57.556-05:00

Natural Law, Procedural Conservatism, and ProgressMill's On Liberty contains good examples of case-based reasoning and reasoning based on facts about human beings. Such facts are more likely to depict human nature than abstract rules based on procedurally non-conservative inquiry (e.g., Kant, Rawls, various progressivistic theories) which look at what is not the case and talk about that

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-71930073702394655402009-02-15T12:15:00.002-05:002009-02-15T12:37:22.586-05:00

Conservatism and Moral TheoryI would like to tie some strands together. Bear with me; many of the strands are in archives. In the last little while we've been looking at human nature and conservatism. In the more distant past I've discussed moral theory, as well. You can see an intimate connection.Conservatism has two levels: procedural and, let's call it, indexical. Procedural conservatism is

Jim Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00053203362792999895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3727130.post-80735884034924479812009-02-13T17:44:00.005-05:002009-02-14T10:35:48.287-05:00

Conservative Deliberation and Human NatureI said:I've slipped from "conservative deliberation" to "genuine, true deliberation." There is no difference, and if you think otherwise, you're mistaking the semblance for the real thing. There is nothing that would count as evidence that a course of behavior or way of life that went against what we know to be true about our nature and our set of

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