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http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/drugs-evil-pm/2007/10/17/1192300843863.html Are all drugs 'evil'? Should we stop referring to 'party' or 'recreational' drugs? Is Howard trying too hard to appeal to good ol' values?

pffft sif mock Hotelling. I see its application to be honest. However the parties still have a tendency to rely on their private markets - groups that will always vote for the party even if its policies imitate that of the other party. Then there is zimmermann's claim that Hotelling is...

Mine too.

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi and Reckoner

I hadn't seen a link to newamericancentury for quite a while though.

I take your 'there is no such ting as the govt' statement as to mean there is no actual individual who is 'the government', since if there is literally 'no such thing as the govt' there would be no need for you to advocate for its abolishment. If there is such a distinction - if the government...

The statement that 'stealing is morally wrong', from our ordinary understanding of morality, is I think quite acceptable. When you use the acceptability of the statement, the obviousness and naturalness of the statement and its virtually universal acceptance as proof of its objectivity, as proof...

Hi KFunk, I think you've raised many insightful points in this thread, particularly in relation to the incentives and operations of the pharmaceutical industry. The main difference between government actions and tobacco industry actions concerns the outcomes that they respectively attempt to...

Of course, the theory of UPB exists. But so does consequentialism, Marxism, feminism, Confucianism etc. The mere existence of a theory does not go towards proving its merits or justifying its usefulness. The fact that something is logically consistent with itself is insufficient. Regardless of...

Congrats Iron! Well said UIC. Let this appointment mark the start of a golden age in NCAP.

Hi Iron. I accept that the balance has swung too far in favour of homosexual 'identity'. But it is certainly a balancing exercise, and I think the 'unspoken truth' stance was probably too unfair for homosexuals. Still, I stand by the stance that the actual influence on mainstream culture is not...

Governments have been replaced by new governments because 1) governments are required to coordinate creation of law enforcement, healthcare, infrastructure, and other basic services that are not adequately provided by the market and which the payoffs to the entrepreneur that would provide it do...

The idea of not having a government is not some complicated intricate idea that has only recently been discovered and has therefore understandably not been implemented. It is a simple idea - you either have a government or you don't. If it hasn't worked in the past, that is strong evidence that...

On the internet, you can find theoretical arguments supporting any ideological stance. It is easy to argue hypothetical situations - A will lead to B, rather than C. There's always a reason why A might lead to B, but in reality the reasons why it will lead to C are greater and overarching...

I think in terms of sexualisation of society, black culture has recently been more influential in perpetuating this trend. In particular, the ghetto culture and music videos on mtv, which at least represents the mainstream understanding of black culture, has contributed to the sexual...

Anarcho capitalism is a good example of an ideology that attempts to justify the possibility of a world without an aspect that is prevalent in the present world. The very basis of the ideology is its opposition to the idea of government - it tends to regard government itself as evil and...

Without the existence of the state, people will impose their will on others. It is the state which protects individuals from the consequences of imposition. It is not the act of imposing of the will that is morally wrong, but the consequences that flow from the way in which the imposition is...

I have made this clear already. I don't believe in so called moral 'rules' that apply regardless of the circumstances. Again, the moral conscience of the soldier who kills in combat is very different to that of a person who kills in a drive by shooting. The same principle applies in other...

Sure but it seems a bit far fetched to identify acceptance of homosexuality as a significant cause (as opposed from consequence) of the change in the status quo since the 50s. I agree that sexualisation in the 60s may be a major cause of the change, but then acceptance of homosexuality is caused...

I don't see how the number of nukes, so long as we develop at least a couple, is relevant. A couple of nuclear weapons is as good as thousands for the purpose of deterrence. The technology - land or submarine based, liquid or dry fuel, etc may be relevant (but not necessarily as we saw with...