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Economics

 

Trade Deficits and Fiat Currencies:

Dr. Robert P. Murphy

February 24, 2007:

All Austro-libertarians can agree that central banking, as well as government barriers to trade, are immoral and inefficient. Yet these a priori principles do not immediately inform us as to the strength or weakness of today's economy. Contrary to the doomsayers, Dr. Robert P. Murphy does not believe that the world financial system, and the US market in particular, is headed for certain disaster.

 

A Review of Robert Murphy's Chaos Theory: Two Essays on Market Anarchy:

Dr. Charles N. Steele

February 25, 2007:

Dr. Charles N. Steele reviews and critiques Dr. Robert P. Murphy's Chaos Theory: Two Essays on Market Anarchy. While he does not wish to criticize libertarianism, anarcho-capitalism, or Dr. Murphy himself, Dr. Steele gives a strong "two thumbs down" to Chaos Theory for what he considers a fatally flawed presentation of how an anarcho-capitalist society could work. Dr. Steele argues that: 1. The web of contracts proposed by Dr. Murphy is impossible;  2. Even if they were possible, the details would be so complex that no individual would know what s/he he had agreed to;  3. Liability by itself is insufficient deterrence for criminal behavior; 4. The insurance scheme is utterly unworkable.  This means, argues Dr. Steele, that the core of Dr. Murphy's anarchism is completely unworkable as well. He then challenges further aspects in Dr. Murphy's system. For other debates concerning this work on TRA, see Mr. Stolyarov's Thirty-Three Challenges to Robert Murphy's Theory of Market Anarchy in Law and Defense and Dr. Murphy's Responses to G. Stolyarov II's Challenges to the Theory of Private Law.

 

Politics

 

Claude Allègre: Against the Ecologically Correct:

Xavier Méra

February 24, 2007:

Xavier Méra writes that Mr. Claude Allègre, former French Minister of Education, has put his finger on a truth, namely, that no genuine consensus prevails about human-induced global warming. This truth upsets because it stands in contradiction to what the media deliver day after day as a conclusive argument in order to break down the ultimate barriers towards policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If all “experts” predict a disaster if “nothing is done”, on what grounds are we to go against it? But, contrary to the impression one might have after the last IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) meeting in Paris, it is simply not true that all experts agree about the anthropogenic nature of climate change and about the scope of the phenomena.

 

Bureaucratic Drug Delisting: The French Example:

Valentin Petkantchin

February 24, 2007:

In their endeavor to cut back on costs, public health systems throughout Europe resort more and more to drug delisting. Beyond the fact that they may prove to be inefficient, these measures also reflect an alarming trend towards bureaucratization of healthcare by these monopolistic schemes. Valentin Petkantchin writes that France provides a fitting example of this trend.

 

The Strange World of Al Gore:

Alan Caruba

February 24, 2007:

Alan Caruba contends that hatred of humanity, of civilization, of industrialization, of expanding frontiers of science and technology lies at the heart of Al Gore’s philosophy. And it is contagious. Gore’s embrace of Global Warming is widely accepted even in the face of raging blizzards in Colorado, frozen orange crops in California, and chill conditions throughout the Midwest and Northeast. There’s plenty of cold weather elsewhere in the world. We call this “winter.” Despite obvious and empirical evidence to the contrary, some people keep insisting the Earth is filled with signs of a sudden and calamitous warming.

 

Do We Have a Right to Hate?:

Selwyn Duke

February 24, 2007:

Selwyn Duke warns of the danger of the increasing legal persecution of "politically incorrect" speech, which is steadily being "redefined" as "hate speech." In many ways, those who wish to promulgate laws against "hate speech" are worse than Wahhabi Islamist fanatics. What the Moslems proscribe actually is wrong, whereas the Thought Police often punish those who criticize what is wrong.  Put differently, the Moslems do actually target lustful acts but, while the Thought Police claim to want to eliminate hate, their true focus is eliminating expression that refutes their agenda.  Thus, the latter are far more contemptible in their deceit and sanctimony.

 

Toward a More Savage Nation:

Selwyn Duke

February 24, 2007:

Accomplished radio talk show host, scientist, and author Michael Savage is contemplating a run for the White House. Selwyn Duke describes Mr. Savage's virtues and the superiority of his principles and character to those of the current frontrunners for the 2008 Presidential Election.

 

An Ice Age versus Global Warming:

Alan Caruba

February 25, 2007:

Alan Caruba writes that the real agenda of Global Warming is political and economic. The IPCC’s predictions are intended to stampede the legislation of vast restrictions on all use of energy. It is energy and “labor saving devices” that have transformed what we regard as the modern world. Take away electricity, and we are all instantly transported back to the days when the Declaration of Independence was written by candlelight. If anything, a new major Ice Age, rather than Global Warming, is more likely.

 

Rudolph Giuliani? What Were We Talking About?:

Selwyn Duke

March 4, 2007:

Selwyn Duke believes that Rudolph Giuliani has virtually no chance of actually becoming the Republican Presidential candidate; Giuliani leans too far left and holds views on abortion and homosexual anti-marriage which the Republican electorate will not accept.

 

Hypocrisy in the Middle East:

Rep. Ron Paul, M. D.

March 4, 2007:

Rep. Ron Paul writes that if honest democratic elections were held throughout the Middle East tomorrow, many countries would elect religious fundamentalist leaders hostile to the United States. Cliché or not, the Arab Street really doesn’t like America, so we should stop the charade about democracy and start pursuing a coherent foreign policy that serves America’s long-term interests.

 

"The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving individual freedom."

 

~Milton Friedman