Human Needs Don't Exist
Imagining categorical needs – divorced from individual values and goals – dismisses human difference, subjectivity, intentionality and reason.…
Against The Presumption of Open Borders. The libertarian argument from imperfect restitution.
Is an open border policy inherently more libertarian than a restrictive or exclusionary policy? I believe the answer is no.…
For the arts – Against compulsion. Dear Patreon.
Arts funding depends on taxation. Taxation depends on maintaining credible threats of violence against peaceful people who would otherwise not comply.…
Responses to Slate Star Codex's Machinery of Freedom review
Scott Alexander’s 2015 review of David Friedman’s Machinery of Freedom includes a few interesting objections. Here I answer them as best as I can.…
Exploitation Theory Was Obsoleted Long Ago
Marxist accounts of the injustice of capitalism can sound plausible. But there's a foundational mistake in Marx’s exploitation theory.…
How To Make Peace With Moral Nihilism
I encourage you not to be afraid of moral nihilism. It doesn’t make you a wicked person. It coheres better than moral realism with what we know about the world, and you sacrifice no persuasive power by accepting it.…