Saturday, October 22, 2016

AWAD - Hilarity

Grievous character flaws must beset the GOP presidential candidate. An ostensibly apolitical site like wordsmith.org would have no cause to anathematize him otherwise. 

Presumably, these have to do with Trump's "racism," which the cognoscenti infer from his advocacy for enhanced national-border controls. Yet Japan, China, United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Singapore all pursue severely restrictive immigration policies. Why does no one call out their leaders as racist?

The deep-thinkers' double standards are mind-boggling. They are also a source of unending hilarity.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Objective, Discoverable, Rational!

A Randroid, Rothbardian, and Catholic monarchist walk into a bar: two rationalists and one Sky Wizard obscurantist. As Natural Rights theorists, all three agree Rights are objective, discoverable, and rational.

The Randroid and Rothbardian insist a woman has "a right to choose," much to the consternation of the Catholic monarchist. The Rothbardian and Catholic monarchist insist no nation--not even a "civilized" one like the U.S.--has the right to target "savage nation" noncombatants in wartime, much to the consternation of the Randroid. Nobody can come to any agreement on intellectual property, slant drilling, or the morality of the income tax.

The rancor generated by their conflicting versions of Natural Rights prevents them from enjoying a pint together. That "objective, discoverable, and rational" thing doesn't work for them. Stupid metaphysicists.

Monday, October 17, 2016

Catholic History Ignoramuses

To paraphrase Rothbard's take on economic ignoramuses: 

It is no crime to be ignorant of Catholic history, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people cavalierly dismiss by parroting Black Legends. But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on Catholic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

Molyneux's interview video with Dr. Duke Pesta: https://youtu.be/x-eUnj1ATMc

Thursday, October 13, 2016

All Ethical Systems are Faith-Based

Call it divine law. Call it natural law. Call it godless Objectivism. No matter. It's all faith-based.
Sure, you can develop a system of ethics "rationally," based on your axioms and definitions. Sure, your conclusions are logical. They're still contained in those axioms and definitions.
Those axioms and definitions aren't so self-evident to everybody else. You accept them on faith or you reject them. The Great God Natural Law won't help you.

Monday, October 03, 2016

John A. Hobson on Imperialism

If the special interest of the investor is liable to clash with the public interest and to induce a wrecking policy, still more dangerous is the special interest of the financier, the general dealer in investments. In large measure the rank and file of the investors are, both for business and for politics, the cat's-paws of the great financial houses, who use stocks and shares not so much as investments to yield them interest, but as material for speculation in the money market.

In handling large masses of stocks and shares, in floating companies, in manipulating fluctuations of values, the magnates of the Bourse find their gain. These great businesses—banking, broking, bill discounting, loan floating, company promoting—form the central ganglion of international capitalism.

United by the strongest bonds of organisation, always in closest and quickest touch with one another, situated in the very heart of the business capital of every State, controlled, so far as Europe is concerned, chiefly by men of a single and peculiar race, who have behind them many centuries of financial experience, they are in a unique position to control the policy of nations. 

No great quick direction of capital is possible save by their consent and through their agency. 

Does any one seriously suppose that a great war could be undertaken by any European State, or a great State loan subscribed, if the house of Rothschild and its connections set their face against it?

-- John A. Hobson, 'Imperialism: A Study'. Pg.45. [1902]