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Economics

 

Imperfect Knowledge, Entrepreneurship, and the Pure Entrepreneur:

G. Stolyarov II

July 21, 2007:

Unlike most orthodox Neoclassical economic theories – with their assumptions of perfect information held by all market participants – Israel Kirzner’s view of entrepreneurship and the competitive process seeks to describe a more realistic scenario, in which human knowledge is limited and many profit opportunities can be entirely overlooked by virtually all actors in the marketplace. Into this framework, it is possible to fit the idea of the entrepreneur and to explain his role in a manner that can apply to the real market as we observe it. In this first essay analyzing Kirzner's work, Mr. Stolyarov explains the role of the entrepreneur but also offers reservations regarding Kirzner's concept of pure entrepreneurship.

 

Epistemology

 

The Rabbit from the Hat of W. V. Quine:

Leonid Fainberg

July 27, 2007:

Recently, Leonid Fainberg has been introduced to W. V. Quine’s philosophy by a friend.  Quine is considered to be the most influential philosopher of 20th century. He died at the respectful age of 92 years in the year 2000, and only the list of his published works takes 11 pages. Mr. Fainberg had some glimpses on the issue which is central in Quine's philosophy—ontological relativism, and he didn’t like what he saw. These are Mr. Fainberg's arguments.

 

Ethics

 

Theoretical and Practical Deliberations on Productivity:

G. Stolyarov II

July 20, 2007:

Productivity constitutes the difference between a world in which life is nasty, brutish, and short and one in which it is pleasant, civilized, and ever-increasing in length. Every single accomplishment that separates modern man from his primeval ancestors was wrought from the raw materials of nature by human productive work. Yet what does productivity consist of? And why do some people display far more of it than others? In this essay, Mr. Stolyarov explores and answers these questions.

 

Historical Analysis

 

On the Liberty of the Ancients Compared With That of the Moderns (1819):

Benjamin Constant

July 27, 2007:

In this classic lecture, Benjamin Constant distinguishes between the collectivistic, state-and-public-life-oriented view of liberty held by the ancient Greeks and Romans and the individualistic, private-enjoyment-oriented liberty of the moderns. Constant explains that the modern world cannot ever return to the ancient ideal of liberty and that attempting to do so results in the most grievous of tyrannies. Instead, we should be vigilant against any intrusions upon the modern liberties which are sustainable and desirable at present.

 

Literary Analysis

 

A Review of Andrew Bernstein's The Philosophic and Literary Integration in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged:

Dr. Edward W. Younkins

July 27, 2007:

Dr. Edward Younkins offers a timely review of Andrew Bernstein’s 1995, 8.5 hours long, 7 tape, audio course, The Philosophic and Literary Integration in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.  It is timely because the year 2007 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Ayn Rand’s masterpiece, and many people will be wanting either to revisit Rand’s magnum opus or to find out what it is all about. Professor Bernstein's immense knowledge, incredible enthusiasm, and fine sense of humor are clearly evident on this audio course.

 

Politics

 

A Plan for Cutting Big Government:

G. Stolyarov II

July 20, 2007:

It is possible have a truly limited government and pay zero taxes for it. Yes, you read it correctly. Half of the allegedly inescapable duo of “death and taxes” is not unavoidable after all. Furthermore, it is possible to transition from the current situation of gargantuan and ever-expanding administrative state to the kind of government which requires no taxpayer contributions to maintain, performs its proper functions well, and has built-in checks against future growth. During the transition to this kind of government, it is also possible to solve the problem of monetary inflation and pay off the national debt. Mr. Stolyarov presents the Fiscal Restriction Amendment, an idea which, if implemented, will genuinely rein in government's size and scope.

 

How Big Government Breeds Vice: Perverse Incentives of the Welfare State:

G. Stolyarov II

July 20, 2007:

Expanding the scope and power of government cannot make people more virtuous than they otherwise would be. But it certainly can make them less moral than they would have been in a free society. Mr. Stolyarov writes that vast government controls, social programs, and handouts, by encouraging permanent dependence on entitlements, lead to a steady decline in the moral characters of large numbers of people.

 

How Affirmative Action Harms the Best Minority Individuals:

G. Stolyarov II

July 20, 2007:

Affirmative action most greatly hurts precisely those whom it is allegedly intended to help: intelligent, hard-working, meritorious individuals who happen to belong to some kind of minority group. Mr. Stolyarov shows how affirmative action policies encourage condemnation and discrimination leveled against such individuals from virtually all sides.

 

Government Arrogance is Out of Control!:

Dr. Chuck Baldwin

July 20, 2007:

Dr. Chuck Baldwin sat dumbfounded as he watched U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton defend his prosecution of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean in a recent interview with CNN's Lou Dobbs. To just about anyone who knows anything about this case, the prosecution and subsequent imprisonment of these two agents (who were simply attempting to enforce our nation's immigration and drug laws) is an unfathomable miscarriage of justice. Yet, Sutton has repeatedly (with great smugness and pride) done everything but brag about putting these two officers in prison.

 

A Sunny View of Oblivion:

Alan Caruba

July 27, 2007:

Deliberately confusing people is all the blather about an Earth-threatening “global warming” caused by scary “greenhouse gases.” This silliness is used to justify the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, i.e., limiting the use of any and all energy sources. Alan Caruba guesses we’re really lucky that two billion people still don’t even have access to electricity. Of course, they may not be thrilled by it. Scientists with no agenda other than, well, science, are far more concerned about what the Sun has been doing of late and what it is likely to be doing within five years. If they’re right, humanity is in big trouble.

 

"Productivity approached rationally and systematically need not be painful; on the other hand, it is not desirable that it be accompanied by euphoria, either – for any euphoria is fleeting. Only the productivity which is possible in a calm, moderate, level-headed state of mind can be sustained. "

 

~ G. Stolyarov II,

"Theoretical and Practical Deliberations on Productivity"