Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness

Racism - Not always black & white!

by Reena Kapoor

Apparently women of color are immune to allegations of racism.  Stupid me for not knowing this after having suffered through "diversity" training at some of the leading coprorations of this country.  I don't know about you but that does not make me feel warm & fuzzy about the choice of Sotomayor as nominee for the supreme court! I don't know how competent this Latina is but she sure scares me with her glib attitude and penchant for judicial activism, NOT to mention her racist remarks. Yes, read this:

Yet speaking at Berkeley's Law School in 2001, Sotomayor asserted that "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would \[as judge\] more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." 

If you don't think that's racist, make her a white male in your mind and change the "Latina woman" to "White male" and vice-versa and see what you think.

Worth a Thousand Words

by Reena Kapoor

I recently came upon this picture that shows North and South Korea at night.  Any questions?

Several comments were made; among them Ed Hudgins of The Atlas Society suggests the caption: “North Korea celebrates ‘Earth Hour’ every hour, every night.”

Of course some greens, particularly the true believers, will counter that this (dark path) is the true, natural path. They of course want us to forget a few things that i) "natural" does not mean anything in itself, because small pox is natural too ii) man does not exist outside of nature (as even Freeman Dyson reminds us) and finally iii) the means needed to keep North Koreans in this desirable, natural state. And this last point in particular they would like us to gloss over. Because this is exactly how they implement their philosophy - with the government's  coercive force at their back.  Yes the greens would like to persuade you but if that does not work - and you would prefer a life in South Korea to that in North Korea - well in that case they will simply legistlate, regulate and mandate any South Korea out of existence.

"How We Got Into This Frackin' Mess" Chart

by Anurag Wadehra

Stephen Hicks has a conceptually elegant but simple chart explaining the pathologies of a mixed economy - when free market is "mixed" with government intervention. For fancier titles of the chart, Dr. Hicks suggests...

Academic title: “The Sociology of Dysfunctional Nonstandard Political-Economic Systems.”

Public Intellectual title: “The Evolution of the Mixed Economy.”

I wonder if there is a similar attempt by the Socialists to explain their worldview. At least their arguments - good, bad and ugly - could be laid bare.

Ironical?

by Reena Kapoor

I wanted to point you all to this link online: interactive constitution.  I thought it was ironical that this document which was conceived in a time when most people were illiterate, is now so accessbile and yet its content and concepts seem so elusive and fleeting!

Self Ownership - A Novel Idea?

by Anisha Kahai

Why is the simple philosophy of Liberty so hard for so many people to get? Isn't it the most natural, logical way to think? Here is an elegant attempt at making these ideas accessible.

What they cannot take away

by Reena Kapoor

People will always respond to Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand's ideas. Love her or hate her you cannot deny the power of the questions she raises.  Look at what her book's sales have been doing this past year or more of madness that we've all been witnessing.  Take a careful look at the chart - it's the first cause for hope I've seen in months.  People are still thinking. The human power to think and independence of judgement -- this they cannot take away even as they nationalize, socialize, unionize and tax us out of existence!

Reviled in some circles and mocked in others, Rand’s 1957 novel of embattled capitalism is a favourite of libertarians and college students. Lately, though, its appeal has been growing. According to data from TitleZ, a firm that tracks bestseller rankings on Amazon, an online retailer, the book’s 30-day average Amazon rank was 127 on February 21st, well above its average over the past two years of 542. On January 13th the book’s ranking was 33, briefly besting President Barack Obama’s popular tome, “The Audacity of Hope”.

Mill's Perspicuous Perspective

by Rakinder Grover

I found a great quote from John Stuart Mill in a comment by Ray Mangum on Roderick Long's blog, the Austro-Athenian Empire:

“The spirit of improvement is not always a spirit of liberty, for it may aim at forcing improvements on an unwilling people; and the spirit of liberty, in so far as it resists such attempts, may ally itself locally and temporarily with the opponents of improvement; but the only unfailing and permanent source of improvement is liberty, since by it there are as many possible independent centres of improvement as there are individuals.”

Celebrating genius

by Reena Kapoor

Happy Birthday Ayn Rand! She was born Feb 2nd 1905 and would have been 104 today. We need her more than ever. I am re-reading Atlas Shrugged just to confirm I am sane in what feels like an asylum.

I was recently discussing the state of affairs with someone who is libertarian and all for small government but does not think we need a moral defense of capitalism.  Her point of view - like that of many libertarians - was that we did not need it and that a moral defense does not persuade but a utilitarian one does. 

Rand: Always relevant...

by Reena Kapoor

Simply brilliant article in WSJ by Stephen Moore Atlas Shrugged: From fiction to fact in 52 years about how we've completely lost our way and the US has indeed become a mockery of a society Rand predicted it would if it followed its bad egalitarian/socialist economic policies.  The article simply makes you sad and angry about the state of affairs in this so called bastion of capitalism & liberty!

Once again - The Missing Link?

by Reena Kapoor

An interesting article Ayn Rand: The missing Libertarian Ingredient, the secret Ron Paul ingredient
related to the inexorable draw of Ayn Rand's philosophy for libertarians. A bold, yet compelling, thesis especially appealing for those who have read Rand, correctly:

As a political movement, Libertarians have floundered for 40 years. Presidential candidate Ron Paul acknowledged his ideological roots in 2007 and flourished like never before in his 30+ year political career. Ayn Rand’s philosophy holds the key to the future of Individual Freedom, and Libertarians better jump on board or recognize they, as a political force, will not be victorious in their professed war for liberty.