As a strong proponent of free markets, I am in principle opposed to tariffs.
I qualify that by stating that I only do so under free market conditions, conditions which we are most certainly not operating under on the world stage today.
Under such circumstances, tariffs if deftly applied or threatened, can be an effective means of levelling the playing field.
I would also not oppose tariffs if they were to replace all federal taxes and make the intrusive IRS unnecessary.
In Plato's famous treatise 'The Republic' he lays out his plan for the perfect society.
One primary element of his plan involves the placement of specially trained philosophers as kings over the rest of the population.
This notion has seen a revival in our time with the suggestion that the experts should rule over the rest of us.
The idea is just as bad today as it was in Plato's Greece.
This is not to suggest that we should ignore the counsel of either philosophers or experts.
It is rather to...
If you received what passes for an education administered by the State, you no doubt have been led to believe that a group referred to as the 'Robber Baron' became rich by fleecing the population at large.
This is not true.
If you have been bamboozled into believing such nonsense I suggest you read 'The Myth of the Robber Barons' by Burt Folsom.
If you can't take the trouble to do that then at least read up on James J. Hill who built a superior continental railroad without benefit of the...
An appalling result of the government public education (sic) system is its failure to educate.
Economic ignorance is just one result.
Most people do not understand basic economics and are thus easily persuaded to accept if not support policies and programs which are not in their best interest.
Take for example regulations. Most people, and especially liberals believe that regulations are both necessary and beneficial.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Almost without exception, regulations...
A very important divide has been crossed when what is worthy of respect and admiration becomes worshipped and adored.
I am thinking here specifically about science.
One would be woefully remiss if they failed to afford science its due.
Most of the improvements you and enjoy today are the direct result of scientific discoveries and breakthroughs.
Science however, like so many other things, has its limits, and we would do well to remember that.
I find it more than a little interesting, how under the exact same circumstances, two people come to have very different assessments of the situation and their emotional responses are consequently strikingly different.
I was reading an article earlier where the author was lamenting how horrible things are today.
I heard this same lament earlier this week when I attended a meeting of Humanists and Free-Thinkers, all of whom by the way are liberal Democrats. The people there were moaning and...
Some words are heavily dependent upon context to determine if they are negative or positive.
For example the word discriminating is actually a very positive word in most contexts and negative in only a very few contexts.
The word means having or showing refined taste or good judgment.
What could possibly be wrong with that?
It means that a discriminating person discriminates regarding what they value.
What could be said about a person who did not so discriminate?
Of course, we consider it negative...
I know that I am not alone in considering questions the most important tool in a person's intellectual tool kit.
So, why is that the case?
Let's begin by comparing propositions with questions.
Propositions make a statement.
For example: 'Your choice of a marriage partner will impact your happiness dramatically.'
When you hear that, what is the result?
Perhaps nothing more than a nod of your head in assent.
But very little thinking is generated. That's because propositions are not generative.
Now...
What are the characteristics of those who wish to rule over others?
The despotically inclined are without exception narcissists, and sociopaths, if not psychopaths.
Thus they are completely self-centered and incapable of empathy or sympathy for others.
They were often bullies growing up.
These figures are uniquely qualified to rise in political circles.
The term individualism often gets a bad rap these days.
That's unfortunate since the individual is the essential component of every group and the smallest minority on earth.
The term is often used in such a way as to insinuate that the individual is always inherently and negatively selfish and therefore unconcerned with the well-being of others.
This is not the correct way to understand the concept however.
The individual, like the atom, is the building block of any more complex structure or...
I find it fascinating that two people observing the same set of circumstances can come to such widely differing assessments of their implications.
The one holds a rather optimistic view of the future while the other seems to consider the universe as malevolent and the future dark.
Consequently, when one considers this disparity they realize that the divergent assessments have little if anything to do with the circumstances themselves and everything to do with the person's preexisting...
Tools of all types, are force multipliers.
This is the case with levers and pulleys, and is also the case with language.
Force multipliers do just what their name implies. They enable us to multiply human force (ability) of one type or another.
Pulley systems allow us to lift objects impossible for us to move using only our brute strength.
Levers make possible the same.
Language is a different type of force multiplier.
In enables us to aggregate the knowledge of the ages and thus increase our...
My best friend has a rather dysfunctional family. Perhaps dysfunctional families are more prevalent than I am aware of.
My friend has begun referring to these dysfunctional family members as twisted.
I've never considered using the term twisted to refer to such people, but I can see the logic in it.
The opposite of twisted is straight.
However, if we refer to someone as straight today we are construed to be speaking about their sexual orientation.
Some characteristics of twisted people are that...
Leave it to the French in the person of Jean Jacque Rousseau to come up with a nonsensical explanation regarding what you and I owe to society.
The notion is that at some point persons unidentified agreed to a contract which placed social obligations upon all of us.
This is utter rubbish, fabricated by minds too smart for their own good, and capable of making fine and superficially sound arguments for ridiculous ideas.
Some even go so far as to claim that our Constitution is just such a...
Evil is the absence of good as darkness is the absence of light.
Without the good and the light, the evil and the darkness could not exist.
I have a rule which I think everyone would benefit from adopting if they haven't already done so.
I am inflexible with regard to my moral principles, but quite flexible with regard to my methods of implementing them.
It has been said that it isn't who gets to vote, but rather who gets to count the vote that matters.
Likewise, it isn't who gets to make the laws or even the laws themselves that matter but rather who gets to interpret the laws.
It almost always comes down to who decides.
Ambition is often characterized these days as something negative and to be avoided.
This is unfortunate since it is the ambition of others which has served to make our lives healthier and in every other regard, more enjoyable.
Many times today when a person says that something is complex they are essentially attempting to throw sand in the gears of our thinking.
They are suggesting that viable solutions are inaccessible to our feeble minds, and that searching for them is a fool's errand.
This is nothing but rubbish of course.
It is indeed true that life in general today, and many specific aspects of it are complex.
That is why principles are so crucial. They can cut through complexity like a hot knife through ice...
We are entering another era of massive disruption.
Other disruptions were the printing press, the advent of the internet and social media.
This new disruption will be rather different in its societal implications however.
The nucleus of the disruption is AI.
In its orbit are such things as robotaxis, robobuses, robosemis and other AI driven robotic applications.
This disruption will leave millions upon millions without employment and almost zero options for any other worthwhile work.
The laptop...