"To defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are therefore exacting and indispensable forms of charity."

H. H. Benedict XVI. Caritas in Veritate Encyclical. June 29, 2009

Monday, December 29, 2008

The Church versus social justice

In a world without the so-called "social justice", there would be many people who couldn't survive without the help of others. At difference of our current interventionist world, values like compassion, generosity, and solidarity would be unavoidable. In such a world, the Church would have the responsibility of uniquely teaching those values and organizing the core of charities, v. g. gratis food, health, clothing, dwelling, and education.

By claiming for more government intervention, clergy begs for being substituted in its major roles in society. By praising "social justice", the Church erodes itself. The day the government have complete dominion in matters of redistribution, the Church can be disposed of.

Atheism as mere semantics

An atheist is someone who decides not to fill the term "God" with any meaning while a theist is someone who fills the term with some meaning whatsoever. The difference between a theist and an atheist is not usually a matter of morals or science but, especially among people raised in a culturally similar environment, of mere semantics.

A theist which knows scientific theories about, say, the origin of life which differ from an apparently respective, literally understood, biblical account does not need to find useless religion as a whole. Religion has a fundamental and irreplaceable role as:

1. An economizer of previously required knowledge and/or shortcut to information needed in order to morally act in specific cases.

2. An aesthetic, more palatable way of transmitting moral advice (this is: advice on final goals, as different of engeneering advice or advice on means to achieve a previously determined end).

What kind of academic freedom must public universities have?

At least in Costa Rica, teachers working in public universities claim for academic freedom.

According to them, academic freedom is receiving funds from government without having to be accountable for their use, this idea expressed of course in much more suave ways.

It is not surprising therefore the conclusion reached by Rogge and Goodrich: "We simply do not believe in academic freedom." (1)

(1) Rogge, Benjamin, and Pierre Goodrich. Education in a Free Society. Liberty Fund, 1973. Page 82.

Market unionism

The worst unionists' error is not being conversant with praxeology. It's understandable that, due to its historic development, unions discourse are mostly based on marxism, but if unionism is to survive it has to urgently turn into market unionism.

Market unionism would be more motley. Free employees associations to fight for collective gains vis-à-vis employers are expected to be so diverse according to particular institutions that although some of those assoctiations would be more similar to current unions, others would be akin to Costa Rican asociaciones solidaristas, shareholders boards or not paradigms not thought of up to now.

I don't know if employees associated under unions would someday stop fighting for barriers against entry, but even so, unionist leaders should pay more attention to the science of praxeology in order to understand the world better and by this being more able to design strategies.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Blame parents for poverty

Many people feel they are poor. Who’s to blame for this? The ultimate responsible for the existence of an individual is their parents. They are, therefore, responsible for the conditions in which the child is brought into the world. Other people can live with a much higher standard of living but, to be sure, the existence of such a child is not their responsibility.

So, blaming the State, the society or any other allusion to people beyond parents is overruled.

What is referred to by such terms as "unfair world" is usually a euphemism for "irresponsible parents".

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Freedom

Freedom is no more than a property right on oneself.

Rights

Every right is ultimately a property right.

Lender of last resort

The ultimate lender of last resort is the taxpayer.  Through this, he is compelled to pay for the moral hazard of some privileged bunch of his fellow citizens.