Libertarians have long been partial to what they believe to be John Locke’s theory of property. On first glance, this is understandable: the snippets of John Locke that are most often taught seem very libertarian in nature. In his Second Treatise of Government, Locke ostensibly argues that when an individual mixes their labor with an… Continue reading Reclaiming John Locke from libertarians
Author: Matt Bruenig
Perhaps class consciousness exists after all
Leftists of all stripes have historically seized upon a romanticized notion of class consciousness. Campaigners, theorists, and supporters talk about the working class as having unified interests and a consciousness that tends towards resistance of bosses and the wealthy. Identity politics of various sort smashed through this simplistic notion on the left. Identitarians pointed out… Continue reading Perhaps class consciousness exists after all
Job creator myth revisited
Nick Hanauer — a wealthy entrepreneur and venture capitalist — has an excellent piece on Bloomberg today addressing the absurdity of the right-wing’s rhetoric of job creation. Conservatives claim that rich people create jobs by using very tortured logic that I will address below. But first, here is Hanauer on the right-wing’s narrative about people… Continue reading Job creator myth revisited
Reproductive Justice and the Capability Approach
I have an article over at Oklahomans for Reproductive Justice about the similarities between reproductive justice and the capability approach to social justice. Check it out: Parenting children, determining the spacing of children, preserving bodily integrity, and so on are specific functionings that reproductive justice advocates recognize as important. What makes the reproductive justice framework… Continue reading Reproductive Justice and the Capability Approach
Some federal employees have higher incomes than private sector counterparts
During the height of the recession, right-wingers tried with some success to make a big deal out of public sector compensation. The depressed economy led to lower government revenues and thus deficits. Conservatives seized the moment to pretend that the deficits were really caused by sky-high public employee compensation. While that claim was obviously false,… Continue reading Some federal employees have higher incomes than private sector counterparts