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The Debasing of Moral Concepts
Gresham’s Law is an economic principle that states, “Bad money drives out good money.” Wikipedia explains the principle as it applies to money: For example, if there are two forms of commodity money in circulation, which are accepted by law as having similar face value, the more valuable commodity will gradually disappear from circulation As…
That Which is Seen
In 1850, the French economist, Claude Frédéric Bastiat, wrote an essay titled “That Which is Seen and That Which is not Seen.” The essay is timeless, and it is particularly enlightening at a time when government spending has reached new levels of profligacy. The introduction to the essay lays out its central point: In the…
Property Rights in Space: Shared Premises
While purporting to offer the foundation for “morally-justified property rights in space,” Lowe’s proposal actually is an abrogation of property rights. In terms of essentials, her paper is founded on premises shared with the Left. First, Lowe accepts the Left’s claim that space is a “celestial commons.” This gives rise to her plan to allow…
Injustice in the Name of Justice
In 2015, The Texas Legislature passed a bill that prohibits local governments from forcing landlords to accept housing vouchers. Sen. Royce West has submitted a bill that would repeal that prohibition and make it illegal to refuse to rent to an individual on the basis of his source of income. West’s proposal would apply across…
When “Rights” are Wrong, Part 2
In Part 1, we saw that housing advocates are advocating four “rights” pertaining to housing. In this post, we will examine the first of these alleged rights, the “right” to choose. We will see that, if put into practice, this “right” will eliminate the freedom of choice. Housing advocates state that, The right to choose…
Principles and Practicality
In the mid-1990s, Joe Overton identified a political concept that became known as the Overton Window. The website for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, where Overton was a senior vice president, describes the concept: Joseph Overton observed that in a given public policy area, such as education, only a relatively narrow range of potential…