Arguing about property

There are many different philosophical ways to arrive at an economically leftist political position. One of those philosophical approaches — which I think has been somewhat neglected — is centered on the issue of property ownership. Unfortunately, many — even on the left — will concede that property rights exist, and that the institution of… Continue reading Arguing about property

The Goals of Occupy Wall Street

I have become increasingly annoyed by the rhetorical line that the goals of Occupy Wall Street are unclear. Mainstream media outlets have been pushing this line from the beginning and many regular people have picked it up as their position. What these media outlets really mean is that protesters at occupations have not written up… Continue reading The Goals of Occupy Wall Street

What is good for the economy?

I am always impressed by the way common words and phrases prevent substantive discussion of important issues. The phrase that is currently getting on my nerves is “good for the economy.” What exactly is good for the economy? The economy is after all an abstraction, a way that we describe systems of production and distribution… Continue reading What is good for the economy?

Changing my blogging style

So far I have been mainly trying to produce pieces that are consistent with the usual newspaper and magazine styles of opinion writing. I have decided that this style has too much downside and almost no upside. It takes a significant amount of time to stylize it in that manner. Unless you are really interested… Continue reading Changing my blogging style