Category: Philosophy

Among sophisticated arguers, outright contradiction is not common. It is too easy to spot, and therefore both easy and necessary to avoid. Instead of contradiction, what often plagues the arguments of the sophisticated is question begging. That is, individuals will assume as an unstated premise the very conclusion they are arguing towards. In normative debates… Continue reading It’s not your money

Imagine you are going on a nature walk on an extremely cold day. You are ten miles from your home or any other shelter. I come along, point a gun at your head, and steal all of your clothes, but leave you your wallet. I then offer to sell you the bundle of clothes I… Continue reading What is a mutually beneficial transaction really?

Reading up on employment sex discrimination today, I ran across a fascinating case. A group of women sued their employer because under the employer’s retirement plan, women who opted for the annuity option received a smaller monthly pension check than men who did the same. In an annuity contract, individuals generally pay an insurance company… Continue reading Sex discrimination or not: a great capability approach example

Mike Konczal has an excellent rundown of recent arguments about the fairness of the capital gains tax. Konczal titles his post “Is Taxing Capital Income Fair?” To me, there is a more interesting question that precedes the one being asked here, and that is: is capital income fair? As Richard Seymour recently pointed out, descriptions… Continue reading Fairness and the capital gains tax

I have always wondered why actually-existing libertarians do not seem that hot on Nozick. He is clearly the most intellectually talented libertarian in history. After some contemplation, however, I think that might be precisely why he is not as popular. Unlike the kind of libertarians who you see featured in jokish libertarian echo chambers, Nozick… Continue reading Robert Nozick buzzsawing other libertarian frameworks