We need more price gouging, not less
In the aftermath of natural disasters, essential supplies (ie water, food, fuel, generators) are often in low supply and can be hard to find. Left alone, market forces of supply and demand quickly act to resolve such an issue: suppliers make special arrangements to get the supplies into the hands of buyers customers. Since natural […]
Voting does not make you virtuous
Voting, like everything else, should be a matter of personal preference. Unfortunately though, sometimes sporting an “I Voted” sticker doesn’t quite satisfy people’s need for virtue-signalling, and they need to take it to the next level: vote-shaming. Here are some common (and demonstrably refutable) claims about voting: “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.” Putting aside […]
Like it or not, child labor is sometimes the best option
For most of human history–and sadly in many parts of the world today–the alternative to child labor is starvation. Prior to taking a job in a factory, a young person in an under-developed nation was not exactly spending their time playing with friends or staring into the clouds. Far more likely, their new factory job […]
Government involvement in garbage collection is disastrous for the environment
Whenever a service is rendered with a universal flat fee for unlimited use, over-consumption runs rampant. (Consider the lack of self-control at an all-you-can-eat buffet, or the overuse of air-conditioning in a hotel room.) In the case of municipal garbage pickup, households are generally charged a flat rate as part of property tax, and the […]
Don’t confuse legality with morality
It’s dangerous to assume that just because something is legal or illegal, it is therefore right or wrong. There is a distinction between what is legal and what is right. After all, the institution of slavery, lack of women’s voting rights, and Nazi treatment of minorities were all perfectly legal, but were also abject moral travesties. […]
What happened to the Golden Rule?
The Golden Rule we were all taught as children instructs us to treat others the way we ourselves would like to be treated. It’s a beautifully simple maxim that, if adhered to by adults, would greatly reduce conflict in the world. We expect children to understand and respect the principle, yet for some reason we […]
New Way of Thinking
For most of us, most of the time, concepts that exist outside our thought patterns are virtually unreachable. The majority of thoughts we have are limited by personal experience and knowledge, and bounce around in an echo chamber of the mind. It is rare that our entire outlook changes and we’re able to emerge from […]
A morally superior alternative to democracy
In every democratic vote, the will of the larger group is forced upon the minority group. At one point or other every individual subjected to the process finds themselves on the losing side. In most aspects of life, such a process which consistently and unnecessarily produces losers would be considered completely unacceptable…but with politics, it’s a […]
Minimum wage laws are harmful and immoral
Making sure that every worker is paid a “living wage” is a good thing, right? Well, it certainly sounds good, but let’s unpackage the premise to confirm that we’re not actually advocating a policy which does more harm than good. Minimum wage laws prohibit any person from being employed if the value they offer is less […]
Utopian ideals can not be forced
Just about everyone has an of idea of what an “ideal society” would look like. Common themes might include no poverty, no conflict, and everyone’s needs being met. The nearly universal desire for such results demonstrates a hallmark of good in humanity. Conflict among individuals and groups arises, however, when these individual ideals of an […]