Philosophy
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Principles are the Antidote to Politics
“Jefferson understood that those who cannot even control themselves should hardly seek to control others.” ~Barry Brownstein
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Organ Shortage: Two Ways to Boost Supply
“Every now and then we encounter a problem that does have a solution. The kidney shortage is one of these problems.” ~Don Boudreaux
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The Dangerous Reinterpretation of Freedom
“When freedom from coercion is no longer a shared societal goal, history teaches that unimaginable horrors can be just around the corner.” ~Barry Brownstein
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Free Market Fundamentals and NatCon Inconsistencies
“I’ve never encountered a protectionist of any stripe who explains why the jobs preserved by protectionism have a higher non-material or ethical importance than do the jobs destroyed by protectionism.” ~Donald Boudreaux
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People Without Meaningful Lives Seek Power Over Others
“Mass movements attract followers who fail to make meaning in their lives, and seek a borrowed meaning from a destructive leader.” ~Barry Brownstein
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Civil Discourse and Political Reality
“It is one thing to dislike someone’s policies and argue against them in a civil discourse, discussing the merits and consequences of their proposals. But there is no place to demonize and so diminish the character of a candidate.” ~Will Sellers
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On the Efficiency and Morality of Free Markets
“Conservatives should be among the first to recognize that the struggle for political power when the state enforces concrete moral codes is destined to lead either to tyranny or to society-shredding violence.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
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20th Century Ideology, Modern Mixed Economies
“Neither the Chinese communists nor the Russian communists ever redistributed significant resources from the able to the needy. If anything, they did the reverse.” ~John Goodman
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To Remain Free, Make the Ordinary Meaningful
“Those who don’t take responsibility for making meaning in their lives can become the worst among us.” ~Barry Brownstein
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Heaps of Trouble
“The reason sorites logic is so difficult to diffuse is that there is no obvious line or threshold to be established somewhere between the incremental steps that begin with a budget surplus and end with a budget consumed by interest payments.” ~Jimmy Alfonso Licon
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Division of Labor Makes Us Wealthy…And Fragile
“Our dependence on the ability to serve others in highly specialized ways is contingent on the rest of the system working constantly and efficiently. Our shrinking command of general competence puts us at greater risk.” ~Michael Munger
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Why Solzhenitsyn’s Line Between Good and Evil Matters
“The extended social order created by the free market expands our opportunities to cooperate with others, and crucially, accepts human nature for what it is.” ~Barry Brownstein
