tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7048152852959612952024-03-12T20:49:13.937-07:00Freedom on IceBreaking down libertarian theory to the masses.PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-41353854597099680462011-07-17T00:11:00.000-07:002011-07-17T00:13:04.340-07:00Penis Size and Economic Growth<a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/07/15/for-economic-growth-does-penis-size-matter-more-than-political-system/">Awesome</a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-36934837396346370132011-07-10T19:02:00.000-07:002011-07-10T19:07:55.205-07:00Gandhi on Industrialization"Industrialization is, I am afraid, going to be a curse for mankind. Exploitation of one nation by another cannot go on for all time. Industrialism depends entirely on your capacity to exploit, on foreign markets being open to you, and on the absence of competitors . . . India, when it begins to exploit other nations—as it must if it becomes industrialized—will be a curse for other nations, a menace to the world."<div><br /></div><div>This quote didn't make Gandhi look very good. He was an educated man, probably exposed to economics. So what happened? He just didn't get it, it appears. So lets look at his other quotes:</div><div><br /></div><div>"I know that man cannot live without industry. Therefore, I cannot be opposed to industrialization. But I have a great concern about introducing machine industry. The machine produces much too fast, and brings with it a sort of economic system which I cannot grasp. I do not want to accept something when I see its evil effects which outweigh whatever good it brings with it."</div><div><br /></div><div>Having concern is Hnot so bad. </div><div><br /></div><div>But still, you have to just give him a D on economics. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-23266495445695710412011-07-09T22:15:00.000-07:002011-07-09T22:20:27.162-07:00Did border restrictions kill the US economy?A very long and involved <a href="http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=9829">Sumner article</a>. But the most interesting part is just one paragraph interests me:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(40, 40, 40); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; ">"Imagine I’m debating Tyler Cowen on the question of whether the 2006 wealth was real in 2006. What’s at stake? I might argue that the wealth was 100% real, but later policies like immigration crackdown and tight money reduced the wealth later on."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(40, 40, 40); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(40, 40, 40); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; ">So the idea here is that maybe there really was no housing bubble, but there would have been enough demand for the houses being built if more people were being let into the country. Very interesting.</span></div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-15596055018364261292011-07-08T22:58:00.000-07:002011-07-08T23:12:20.393-07:00New blog Free Banking<a href="http://www.freebanking.org/">Here</a><br /><br />The first article I read was by someone named <a href="http://www.freebanking.org/2011/07/08/is-the-euro-flawed/">Larry White</a>.<br /><br />Scroll down to the article where he mentions "those who believe in the rule of law".<br /><br />Well...<br /><br />First, I don't believe in the rule of law. I believe in natural law.<br /><br />Second, there is nothing inherently immoral about money creating, even token money creation.<br /><br />What is immoral is that we have a society where people are essentially forced to use US currency, hence it becomes fiat currency.<br /><br />So the question then becomes, is the gold standard a second best alternative to a society with a truly free monetary system?<br /><br />No, its not a "second best" option. Because a government imposed gold standard leads to economic depressions imposed by the government. I suspect NGDP targeting is the real second best option.<br /><br />The heart of my disagreements with the Austrians are:<br />1. How attractive would a 100% gold reserve standard be in a free society? (Not very, in my opinion).<br />2. Is fractional reserve banking fraud? (In my opinion, no).<br />3. What is the second best option while we wait on a free society?PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-49987883997487700472011-07-08T21:49:00.000-07:002011-07-08T22:05:23.865-07:00June jobs reportAccording to <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-moving-in-the-wrong-direction-2011-07-08">market watch</a>, the private sector added 57,000 jobs, while the public sector lost 39,000 jobs, for a net total job addition of 18,000. And May and April saw their job totals revised downward by 44,000. <br /><br />So as libertarians we can take heart that jobs are being moved from the public sector. And yet, we know that our society is not at the level of of human flourishing it coud be if it desisted from agression. <br /><br />This particular article, mentions the debt limit, wich is a whole nother topic.PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-10370655553251887922011-07-06T21:40:00.000-07:002011-07-06T21:48:09.690-07:00Sumner on Fed Inflation<a href="http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=9533">Here</a> he explains the rising gas prices and QE2. He seems convincing. Even if we have a moral problem with the government, can't we describe its actions in an intelligent manner, as Sumner does, rather than a cartoon method, as the Austrians do?PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-52052034126681166842011-07-04T13:48:00.000-07:002011-07-04T13:51:42.255-07:00Murphy Says "Sell US Assets"I like <a href="http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2011/07/murphy_to_us_go.html">it</a>. Certainly preferable raising taxes.<div><br /></div><div>Notice that the mainstream will pay attention to an Austrian economist if he actually has a good idea. </div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-81990164831634394732011-07-03T11:59:00.000-07:002011-07-03T12:03:38.603-07:00The New AnarchismLet the reformation begin! Here I am battlng the <a href="http://blog.mises.org/17512/neither-qe1-nor-qe2-worked-says-greenspan/">Austroids </a>on Von Mises a second time.<br /><br />I'm toying with different names for my version of anarcho-capitalism, seperated from the goofiness of Austian economics. Sometimes just calling it New Anarchism is great.PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-76259474859732827872011-07-02T22:28:00.000-07:002011-07-02T23:04:16.731-07:00Krugman on Corporate Cash<a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/barack-herbert-hoover-obama/">Krugman</a> says that corporations are sitting on cash. The idea here is that we shouldn't give corporations any money, because they already have enough to spend, and it won't lead to economic recovery.<div><br /></div><div>But, as an anarchist, I want to end taxes on corporations because of a desire to end the violence of the state. To no longer see tax dodgers in prison. And to reap the benefits of a wealth, free society.</div><div><br /></div><div>But everyone is focused on economic recovery. That's the only way to push these measures. So Republicans say this will put people to work. But we have bigger aims.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> </div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-68074726715210446692011-07-02T21:35:00.000-07:002011-07-02T23:09:07.403-07:00Another Rightwing ConspiracyToday I heard about the Council of Foreign Relations for the first time. Apparently this is a target of <a href="http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/8069-glenn-beck-exposes-cfr-role-in-govtmedia-merger">Glenn Beck</a> and the John Birch society. Its supposed to be an agent of one world government.<div><br /></div><div>What's maddening is that so many of these rightwing apes take an idea with some truth "government is bad" and then just run with it to have all sorts of crazy ideas, like the 9-11 truthers. Attacking the CFR isn't as crazy as the 9-11 truth movement, but we should be wary.</div><div> </div><div>Note the article also mentions liberals such as David Halberstam. Apparently many people like to diss the CFR.</div><div><br /></div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-47968491582670793102011-07-01T19:51:00.000-07:002011-07-01T19:57:49.662-07:00The Ron Paul ApesRon Paul is just such a tough case. I think his movement would be an improvement. Or I hope it would. There re a lot of rightwing apes in the movement. His position on immigration is the most appalling. Since when did freedom=restricting people's rights to move?<br /><br />Granted, I might have more respect for the idea that border security is a neccesary evil. But the Ron Paul apes have a voracious appetite for turning the southern border into East Berlin.<br /><br />Sorry, but this movement scares me. I actually like Ron Paul ok, but I worry about some of the rightwing extremists who are supporting him.PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-76380042467038175902011-06-30T17:33:00.000-07:002011-06-30T17:37:48.639-07:00More on Sweden<a href="http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-catch-up-growth-under-nominal-gdp.html">Good post</a> on quasi-moneterasim. According to the article, Sweden is trying nominal GDP targeting. And its leading to an economic recovery.<br /><br />Again, let's have an accurage view of the state. We can oppose it without disorting its record.PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-56523997334639228712011-06-30T01:46:00.000-07:002011-06-30T01:56:27.714-07:00Rothbard's Cluster of ErrorsRothbard <a href="http://mises.org/rothbard/agd/chapter1.asp">says</a>:<br /><br />"why is there a sudden general cluster of business errors?"<br /><br />He goes on:<br /><br />"How, then, do we explain the curious phenomenon of the crisis when almost all entrepreneurs suffer sudden losses"<br /><br />and later confidently announces:<br /><br />"In the purely free and unhampered market, there will be no cluster of errors, since trained entrepreneurs will not all make errors at the same time."<br /><br />But of course Rothbard is wrong. The large cluster of errors exists because many businessman and workers have the same set of cognitive biases that creates the phenomenon of sticky wages. With a large pool of qualified unemployed workers, a rational world would advice all workers to accept lower wages. Instead, wages fall slower than prices and many businesses go under.<br /><br />Eventually something happens which reverses the process. (An increase in aggregate demand or perhaps an eventual "catch up" of declining wages in respect to prices). Businesses become profitable and we enter the boom period.PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-49707042463283134742011-06-26T19:39:00.001-07:002011-06-26T19:41:50.781-07:00Another Reason to Be to GreatfulIf you're not a <a href="http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/23/demi-moore-sees-plight-of-rescued-sex-slaves/?hpt=hp_c2">sex slave</a>, thank your stars.<div><br /></div><div>Can we find it in our hearts to do more to help them?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-74959317325039401182011-06-25T11:34:00.000-07:002011-06-25T11:41:54.504-07:00The first volley<a href="http://blog.mises.org/17418/how-keynes-saved-sweden/comment-page-1/#comment-789481">Here </a> I take on the Austrian Ancaps, and challenge them to be more flexible in their thinking.<div><br /></div><div>As much as I may hate the federal government, do I really want mass unemployment? Why go after the Fed, why not go after the violent institutions that give for us to use the fed's currency? (IRS, FBI, etc).</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's open people's eyes! You can be an anarcho-capitalist and throw out the childish Austrian economics.</div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-52045414968120180382011-06-24T17:57:00.000-07:002011-06-24T18:11:48.608-07:00Tolstoy on ShakespeareWhile looking at Tolstoy's wikipedia page I saw this quote:<br /><br />During his life, Tolstoy came to the conclusion that William Shakespeare was a bad dramatist and not a true artist at all. Tolstoy explained his views in a critical essay on Shakespeare written in 1903: "I remember the astonishment I felt when I first read Shakespeare. I expected to receive a powerful aesthetic pleasure, but having read, one after the other, works regarded as his best: "King Lear", "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet" and "Macbeth," not only did I feel no delight, but I felt an irresistible repulsion and tedium.."<br /><br />I showed it to my father, English major and his response was:<br /><br /><br /><div>"well a lot of american students have a similar reaction. It's not enought to read the plays. You really need to see them acted. Perhaps tolstoy was reading a bad translation, or , if he was reading in english, had difficulty with the language."<br /><br />What interested me was how subjective art is. Nobody can really dispute that Michael Jordan was a great basketball player. They can quibble about whether he was better than Magic Johnson, but nobody would call him mediocre. But even the absolute most popular man from western literature, Shakesepeare, can be discounted by a great mind like Tolstoy.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Of course you can measure the popularity of art. And that's exactly what Charles Murray did in his book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Accomplishment">Human Accomplishment</a>.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>But in art, as in business, success breeds success. So there's a real question between how well popularity correlates with quality.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br /></div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-32162241334493165522011-06-24T13:26:00.000-07:002011-06-24T14:03:10.870-07:00Should We Root For The State To FailSaw <a href="http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/2011/06/monetary-policy-efficacy-during-balance.html">this article today: </a><div><br /></div><div>I agree with the quasi-monetarist position that nominal NGDP targeting could stabilize economic growth and employment levels. </div><div><br /></div><div>I think Ron Paul's "End The Fed" is like a campaign to "End The Military" or "End The Police". Ok, as long as people understand that we are open to new institutions replacing the oppressive ones to do the job better.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, the Ron Paul types are pushing a high unemployment, deflationary agenda. The man on the street is not going to accept this message. Granted, some might accept the idea of Austrian economics, but that's a whole other type of snake oil.</div><div><br /></div><div>Instead of trying to end the fed we should be trying to end the legal tender laws, legal system and system of taxation that essentially force people to use American currency. </div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-33284236642856571092011-06-24T09:33:00.000-07:002011-06-24T09:41:14.430-07:00TolstoyTolstoy inspired Gandhi, Gandhi inspired Martin Luther King. So Tolstoy is the Original Baby Gangster Pacifist.<div><br /></div><div>But reading Tolstoy's wikipedia entry did little to inspire me. One other aspect of Tolstoy is his extreme advocacy of celibacy. </div><div><br /></div><div>This isn't to say that celibacy doesn't have a certain charm. But it gets close to a Schopenhauerian view of the world that we'd be better off if life never existed, if no children were ever born. What does Tolstoy say about procreation? I don't know, will read more.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-51279930031212337242011-06-24T00:40:00.000-07:002011-06-24T00:55:47.465-07:00Looking Into Gandhi<span class="Apple-style-span"><div>Lately I've had an interest in Gandhi, so I've started in the first place I could read up on him, wikipedia. I have no doubt his pacifism was too extreme and there are also some strange rumors...well, about him and young girls. But I'm not really looking for a savior.</div><div><br /></div><div>I liked this part of the article:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>"The pivotal and defining element of Gandhism is satya, a Sanskrit word usually translated into English as truth, whose literal meaning is 'what actually is' (deriving from the root verb as meaning 'to be'). The principle of Satya as espoused by Gandhi needed that Truth must pervade all considerations of politics, ego, society and convention. Gandhi did not consider himself to be a pacifist, socialist or on any definable spectrum of politics. He professed to adhere to the pure, existing facts of life to make his decisions.</div><div>Gandhi’s commitments to non-violence, human freedom, equality and justice arose from his personal examination."</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm still learning, so its a bit early to say too much about Gandhi. What I admire him for, more than so many others, is his skepticism towards violence. Too often in life we become passionate with a cause and move to demonize whatever group is opposing our cause. And then the dehumanization and violence comes in. </div><div><br /></div><div>This quote only raises my opinion of Gandhi. "Personal examination" or at least examination of our own beliefs, is the method by which we avoid offensive dogmatism.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> </div></span>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-27219851948092637742011-06-23T14:47:00.000-07:002011-06-23T14:48:39.741-07:00Family Plug<div>PLUG ALERT! Sorry...</div><div><br /></div>Here's a plug for a family member's website:<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.pebblestoneconstructionanddesign.com/">http://www.pebblestoneconstructionanddesign.com/</a></div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-45689877081082600572011-06-22T09:38:00.000-07:002011-06-22T09:41:38.447-07:00Krugman Disses Red StatesOk we<a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/21/live-free-and-die/"> get it</a>, Republicans are dying sooner. But all this raises the question, is longevity something to proud of anyways? Do we really want a society with so many old and frail malingering on? Especially if it requires an expensive redistribution of resources from the young to the old, aka Medicare and Social Security?PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-83823371594239935492011-06-22T09:29:00.000-07:002011-06-22T09:32:38.564-07:00The Race Thing<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/brown06172011.html">Here</a> is an example of a narrative of black oppression. It doesn't impress me, in fact I couldn't read it. <div><br /></div><div>I'm curious how much patience others have for the rage of the racially "oppressed", or white guilt pieces for that matter. Is 20 the median age where one outgrows these things?</div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-34647456952365686412011-06-22T01:00:00.000-07:002011-06-22T01:15:25.211-07:00Capitalism=CooperationOne of the big problems with the discourse on capitalism is that it focuses too much on the word "competition".' Is that what really defines capitalism?<div><br /></div><div><div>Yes, there is competition. But it is competition within the boundaries of respect. It is a rivalry for the heart of the consumer. This love triangle between Company A, Company B and the consumer may cause friction. However, it stops being a free market when Company A violates the property rights of Company B.</div><div><br /></div><div>And for that matter, one could argue that this "competition" is really all about listening to the consumer. That is, if Pepsi is making sweet soda and Pepsi sees its sales go up, Coca-Cola can make its soda sweeter. Thus by analyzing the actions of their purported enemy, Pepsi, Coca-Cola is indirectly listening to the needs of those who purchase carbonated beverages. Key word: Listening</div></div><div><br /></div><div>And of course, what of the basic contractual transactions that occur in capitalism? The contract, whereby a consumer can turn over money for soda. This necessitates cooperation between two parties. Key word: Cooperation</div><div><br /></div><div>So you can say that capitalism is driven by competition all you want. But the spiritual values of respect, listening and cooperation seem to capture the core truth of our free markets.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-704815285295961295.post-32791438846188120932011-06-21T19:18:00.000-07:002011-06-22T01:12:32.745-07:00From Liberal to Libertarian: The Power of CompoundingWhy do some on the left evolve into libertarians? In one word, "compounding".<br /><br />Leftists tend to think that the huner of the impoversihed is more important than economic growth. So they support programs that penalize incentive, therby making the poor better off and total share of the pie smaller than it could be.<br /><br />But when on studies economics, one can understand the importance of economic growth moving at 4% rather than 2%. An economy growing at 2% will double in approximately 35 years. An economy growing at 4% will double in approximately 17.5 years.<br /><br />So think about that, that's a much bigger pie. A pie so large that much more will be donated to charity. An economy with no safety net growing at 4% will eventually donte more to charity than the entire social welfare net of an economy growing at 2%. If not in 17.5 years, 35 years, then perhaps in 100 years.<br /><br />That's the power of compounding.PirateFriedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14490889950268741305noreply@blogger.com0