Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders

“Most students of political philosophy have had some contact with Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia (ASU) — specifically Part II. And for good reasons. Part II is essential because it sets out devastating critiques of competing moral-political doctrines and awakens our deepest intuitions about the coercion required to make those doctrines a reality. Nevertheless, Part III: A Framework for Utopia (henceforth Framework), I believe, is Nozick’s most important contribution. The Framework is under-appreciated compared to familiar thought experiments about people giving up money to watch Wilt Chamberlain play basketball. However, my objective in persuading readers of Part III’s importance is not to rearrange the philosophical canon for students. Instead, my goal is strategic. Nozick’s Framework recommends a mindset that can inspire more subversive innovators.” (09/28/23)

https://underthrow.substack.com/p/asymptotic-anarchism-for-anti-authoritarians

Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

“‘TikTok,’ Haley informed America by way of scolding Ramaswamy for setting up a campaign account on it, ‘is one of the most dangerous social media apps that we could have. … You are now wanting kids to go and get on this social media that’s dangerous for all of us.’ In the middle of all this, Haley let loose with what was, I suppose, intended as the zinger: ‘Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.’ Every time Haley speaks, she sounds a little bit dumber, but I doubt that’s Ramaswamy’s fault. Nor is it Ramaswamy’s fault that she comes off as unhinged on the level of Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper, the fictional character who engineers a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union for ‘corrupting’ his ‘precious bodily fluids’ in the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove.” (09/28/23)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/17998

Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm

“When America’s largest ticket retailer announced plans to adjust its pricing structure, President Joe Biden was quick to claim credit. But concertgoers really should thank Taylor Swift and her fans. … The company had been under pressure from Swifties after a series of mishaps involving ticket sales for Swift’s much-in-​demand Eras Tour. Although those problems were not caused by the supposedly hidden fees, the latter also became a target of customer outrage. The promised price transparency is nice, of course, and smart marketing. But according to Biden, Ticketmaster’s decision validates his ongoing war on the ‘junk fees’ charged by a wide range of businesses, including airlines, hotels, and banks. Biden claims the changes he wants would ‘bring down costs for working Americans’ and create ‘space for competition.’ The president is wrong on both scores.” (for publication 10/23)

https://reason.com/2023/09/28/taylor-swift-junk-fees-and-the-happy-meal-fallacy/

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“I don’t mention it often but I actually have a degree in journalism. I graduated with distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2003, and while it would be another 13 years before I’d ever put my degree to any use, the experience played a massive role in forming my opinions about the mainstream press. One of the lessons I think about a lot came at the beginning of my two-week internship with Channel 10’s Eyewitness News (now 10 News First) when I was watching the show’s bedraggled news editor put everyone’s story assignments up on the whiteboard one morning. I’d been paying a lot of attention to TV news at the time because that’s what we were studying, and I’d noticed that the stories Channel 10 would cover were always exactly the same as the ones that would be covered by Channel 7 and Channel 9 — usually in exactly the same order.” (09/28/23)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2023/09/28/the-news-has-nothing-to-do-with-newsworthiness/