It’s commonplace for some to note that there are racial and class disparities in student debt levels and then hastily conclude that the cost of college is a cause of wealth inequality. These analyses strike me as deeply confused. Consider the following example. Scenario One: Non-Free + Price Discrimination In the status quo, our college… Continue reading Wealth Inequality and Student Debt
Two Notions of Liberty
At the risk of flattering Isaiah Berlin, who I believe to be a very overrated figure, it is important in debates about liberty to not muddle two different concepts. Liberty in the “negative” sense refers to essentially non-interference. Previously, I have spent a lot of time pointing out that this sense of liberty is incompatible… Continue reading Two Notions of Liberty
A Note On Libertarian Anti-Paternalism
Whenever libertarians talk about the evils of liberty-restricting paternalism, I can’t help but recall that the endorsement of paternalism is the only plausible way their theory of laissez-faire property is supposed to get off the ground in the first place. As Nozick notes, the appropriation of property is inherently liberty-destroying: It will be implausible to… Continue reading A Note On Libertarian Anti-Paternalism
Short Note on Norway’s Oil and Sovereign Wealth Fund
In my meanderings on the internet, I’ve run across some misconceptions about Norway’s oil and Sovereign Wealth Fund that I think are harmful to understanding Norway’s welfare success. So here are some things worth noting: Norway does not use its oil revenues to fund its state. Norway’s oil is under the control of the state-run… Continue reading Short Note on Norway’s Oil and Sovereign Wealth Fund
Cop Unions
Recently, much attention has been paid to cops behaving the way cops often behave: killing blacks, harassing blacks, abusing blacks, and so on. One line of commentary on this newfound interest in long-standing cop abuse is that this abuse is the fault of (or cannot be stopped because of) police unions. While I have no… Continue reading Cop Unions