Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Is Performative Speech Protected by the FIrst Amendment?

It is agreed that freedom of speech does not imply freedom to make whatever performative utterance one chooses. It just isn’t agreed what “performative” means. Some (of whom you are the first I ever heard do so ever in my life) use it in this sense. The usage condemnation is performative when, for example a […]

I am not a Libertarian Because I Believe in Freedom and Property Rights, And I’d Like to Minimize Government Coercion, Part 2

by Mike Kimel I am not a Libertarian Because I Believe in Freedom and Property Rights, And I’d Like to Minimize Government Coercion, Part 2 This is a follow-up to my previous post on libertarian philosophy, the aftermath of which was a surprising amount of, well, let’s just call it assorted vigorously uncomplementary communication. (Shows […]

Darwin Strauss and Popper

Robert Waldmann Neoconservatives have expressed sympathy for “intelligent design theory,” that is, creationism. This is well documented by Ronald Bailey’s article in “Reason on line.” Bailey discusses why neoconservatives might claim they don’t believe in evolution by natural selection even though there is no scientific basis for that view. update: link corrected thanks to VtCodger […]