Friday, March 25, 2011

Open thread.

A large number of other blogs use open threads, so perhaps I should try one.

Bring up your own points, ask questions, propose discussion threads, lurkers make yourselves known, etc.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Good economics from India

Good economics from India

From Angus Sibley at www.equilibrium-economicum.net.

Sibley provides a brief summation of why Amartya Sen rejects market fundamentalism in favor of his Capabilities Approach. Market fundamentalism might be good if all we wanted to do is maximize total wealth. Instead, he proposes maximizing human wellbeing, a radically different goal that takes into account positive freedoms.

The Capabilities Approach can in some ways be viewed a an extended reformulation of modern liberalism, and it is perhaps the most important political/philosophical development of the 20th century. Martha Nussbaum has a new book out describing it, Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Capabilities is a good way to make sure that everybody benefits from society. The book is not the best read you'll encounter, but the ideas are great.

Encyclopedia Dramatica on libertarianism

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Libertarian

A lengthy, humorous take on libertarianism from many angles, and well worth chortling over.