A friend sent me a link to an article by Zsolt Kapelner titled “Shouldn’t we entrust experts instead of low-information voters with political decision making?” The article is a loose review of Jason Brennan’s book “Against democracy,” also commenting on some articles discussing and debating the book.
My friend wanted to know what I think about it. Continue reading →
This post is the continuation of the arguments presented in my previous posts: “Where did it go wrong?” and in “Where did it go wrong #2.”
I grew up with the idea of political permanence. I was listening to and singing songs about Lenin, the hero who “sacrificed his faithful life” for us. The heroes of the communist revolution were always pictured and talked of as mythical, heroic demi-Gods. Continue reading →
My previous post on the subject was extolling the virtues of the theory and the book explaining it; in this one I will talk about the gaps in it. While the value of the theory and the reliability of the evidence supporting it is beyond doubt, there are many questions in need of further answers and explanations. It is a new theory, especially as applied to political ideologies and attitudes. The ‘gaps’ in it are just unanswered or not fully explored questions.
A book review
I bought this book based on the rave review of Bill Whittle and the exhaustive presentations of Stefan Molyneux. Having listened to four hours of talk about it, by the time I received the book I had a pretty solid understanding of the idea, the theory and the scientific evidence behind it. Continue reading →
As I was gearing up to comment on a libertarian debate about the police, I realized that the post that started it is a perfect example of what we could call a “Hypothetical Debate Syndrome” a particularly vicious libertarian affliction.
While I may be quite clear on my own stand about liberty, I can get a little confused when I see others making claims about theirs.
The last time I stopped with the effort of putting a label on my stance was when I discovered how many labels there are and that the one I picked (social libertarian) is the one Noam Chomsky uses to describe his. I stopped in horror and decided that the issue needs more deliberation. Continue reading →