Category: Social and Political Philosophy
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Ever Hear of André Glucksmann?
Paul Berman, The Death of Glucksmann. (HT: Ingvar Odegaard) Excerpts: André Glucksmann was a great man, and he played a great role in history. I think that, in the world of ideas, no one in modern times has played a larger and more effective role in marshalling the arguments against totalitarianisms of every sort—no one…
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On the Moral Permissibility of Patriotism
This entry continues the discussion with Jacques about patriotism begun in Is Patriotism a Good Thing? The topic is murky and difficult and we have been meandering some, but at the moment we are discussing the ground of patriotism's moral permissibility. What makes patriotism morally permissible, assuming that it is? We have been operating with…
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For Veteran’s Day, 2015: Patriotism versus Jingoism
It is not uncommon to hear people confuse patriotism with jingoism. So let's spend a few moments this Veteran's Day reflecting on the difference. Jingoism is well described by Robert Hendrickson as "bellicose chauvinism." But given the general level of culture, I am afraid I can't leave it at that, but must go on to…
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Lottery Winnings as Ill-Gotten Gains?
Suppose you win big in a state-sponsored lottery. The money was extracted via false advertising from ignorant rubes and is being transferred by a chance mechanism to one who has done nothing to deserve it. Besides, you are complicit in the state-sponsorship of gambling, which is clearly wrong. The state-sponsorship, not the gambling. There is…
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Immigration and Social Order
Long but good
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Equality and Affirmative Action
"Equality, I spoke the word as if a wedding vow; ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." Bob Dylan, My Back Pages Reader Jacques spots an error of mine in a recent entry and goes on to make points with which I agree: In your recent post on "sloppy…
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Federalism and the Sandbox
Richard Fernandez: The Founding Fathers of America knew that liberty was necessary to avoid tyranny and stagnation. In order to obtain liberty without intolerable disorder they adopted a federal structure. Those 18th century men discovered, far in advance of computer scientists, the concept of a sandbox, a method of controlled experimentation. For those who have…
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Can a Return to Federalism Save Us?
The Problem I fear that we are coming apart as a nation. We need to face the fact that we do not agree on a large number of divisive, passion-inspiring issues. Among these are abortion, gun rights, capital punishment, affirmative action, legal and illegal immigration, same-sex 'marriage,' taxation, the need for fiscal responsibility in government,…
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State Power and the Conscience of the Individual
Why shouldn't the state have and exercise the power to override the conscience of the individual? Suppose I am in the bumper sticker and T-shirt business. You come to my shop and order a thousand Fuck Obama! bumper stickers and a thousand Hillary Sucks! T-shirts. I explain to you that to do as you request…
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Jim Ryan’s Self-Evident Truths of Social and Political Philosophy
The following is verbatim from a post by Jim Ryan, dated 14 August 2013. The truths below are important and need to be widely disseminated. Some Self-Evident Truths A "self-evident" proposition is one that is obviously true to anyone who understands it. These truths are self-evident: 1. To support a free market does not mean…
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Denying the Antecedent?
While traipsing through the Superstition foothills Sunday morning in search of further footnotes to Plato, I happened to think of James Madison and Federalist #51 wherein we read, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." My next thought was: "Men are not angels." But I realized it could be the formal fallacy of…
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Observations on Free Speech
1. One's right to express an opinion brings with it an obligation to form correct opinions, or at least the obligation to make a sincere effort in that direction. The right to free speech brings with it an obligation to exercise the right responsibly.1 2. Free speech is rightly valued, not as a means…
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C. S. Lewis on Mere Liberty and the Evils of Statism
Dear Bill, Could I interest you in please posting a notice on your blog of the following new YouTube video from the C.S. Lewis Society of California of my keynote talk at the first annual conference of Christians for Liberty, that was held at St. Edwards University in San Antonio, TX, August 2, 2014? C.…
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Are Most Terrorists Muslims? And What is a Terrorist?
This recently over the transom: I was reading your recent post on religious profiling in which you said, "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but most terrorists are Muslims." I totally agree, but it's something I've been thinking about lately. I saw someone else make the same claim just last week on another blog, and…
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There is No Provision in Islam for Mosque-State Separation
John Hick, An Interpretation of Religion (Yale UP, 1989, pp. 48-49): From the point of view of the understanding of this state of islam [submission to Allah] the Muslim sees no distinction between the religious and the secular. The whole of life is to be lived in the presence of Allah and is the sphere…