Category: Social and Political Philosophy
-
Peter Lupu on My Gun Rights Argument
A guest post by Peter Lupu. Editing by BV. BV will respond to PL in the ComBox. Here in his own words is the argument that BV presented: 1. Every human person possesses a natural right to life. 2. If every human person has a natural right to life, then he has a right to defend his…
-
Why Must the Left be Totalitarian?
A reader inquires, I was wondering if you could expand on a statement you made in Political Correctness and Gender Neutral Language . . . . The statement is as follows: "The Left is totalitarian by its very nature and so it cannot leave any sphere of human concern unpoliticized." I wholeheartedly agree with your statement,…
-
The Bigger the Government, the More to Fight Over
Taking a page from Prager, I've already noted that big government makes for small citizens. Let us also note that government expansion exacerbates political divisions and sets citizen against citizen. Suppose we get to the point where Washington bureaucrats dictate what types of cars and trucks will be manufactured. Then you can be sure that there…
-
Standing on the Terra Firma of Antecedent Reality
That beautiful line is contained in the following passage from the pen of Richard M. Weaver (1910-1963): It is my contention that a conservative is a realist, who believes that there is a structure of reality independent of his own will and desire. He believes that there is a creation which was here before him,…
-
Notes on Mark Anderson, Pure: Modernity, Philosophy, and the One
Professor Mark Anderson kindly sent me a copy of the above-captioned book the other day. I am about a third of the way through its 108 pages. To write a proper review is hard work, something I will not attempt in the humid heat of the Arizona monsoon. But I will offer a few somewhat random comments…
-
Money, Power, and Equality
J. R. Lucas, "Against Equality," in Justice and Equality, ed. Hugo Bedau (Prentice-Hall, 1971), pp. 148-149: Since men value power and prestige as much as the possession of wealth—indeed, these three 'goods' cannot be completely separated—it is foolish to seek to establish an equality of wealth on egalitarian grounds. It is foolish first because it…
-
Is Socialism Rooted in Envy?
Having toyed with this idea, I have concluded that it is a cheap shot. Socialism is no more rooted in envy than capitalism is rooted in greed. What one can say is that envy is the characteristic vice of socialists, just as greed is the characteristic vice of capitalists. But there is no need that…
-
Patriotism and Jingoism
It is not uncommon to hear people confuse patriotism with jingoism. So let's spend a few moments this Fourth of July reflecting on the difference.
-
Anarchism is to Political Philosophy as Skepticism is to Epistemology
In Nicole Hassoun's NDPR review of Roderick T. Long and Tibor R. Machan (eds.), Anarchism/Minarchism: Is a Government Part of a Free Country?, Ashgate, 2008, we read: Anarchism should be of interest [to social liberals] because it plays the role in political philosophy that skepticism plays in epistemology — raising the question of what, if…
-
Nietzsche on Revolution
Since I tend to beat up on Nietzsche quite a bit, and in consideration of my being one fair and balanced hombre, I thought I would quote a passage in which old Fritz is 'spot on': A delusion in the theory of revolution. — There are political and social fantasists who with fiery eloquence invite…