jakelafort

@ Enco

As for your favorite economist, Frederick Bastiat, he argues for a very limited role for government, focused solely on protecting individual rights. However, some government intervention, like building roads or regulating pollution, can benefit everyone.

He emphasizes individual self-interest as the driving force in economics, but this…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:
But you’ll believe what you want to believe anyway–or what you think you’re determined to believe anyway–so screw it.

What’s good for the goose, as they say.

Simon Paynton wrote:
I would agree with that.  I’m not sure what they are.

Simon Paynton wrote:

Unseen wrote:
Men and women tend to be quite different in fundamental ways, some cultural for sure but others seem to be genetically predisposed or hardwired.

I would agree with that. I’m not sure what they are.

I think most of us understand what…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:
Well, Hamlet 💀😉 we help them by not destroying the greatest economic powerhouse ever on Earth and meanwhile do whatever is non-sacrificial to see that they stay helped. Providing productive work and education on frugality and investment are the number one way to see that people stay helped.

There are a lot of assumptions…[Read more]

@ Simon

Men and women tend to be quite different in fundamental ways, some cultural for sure but others seem to be genetically predisposed or hardwired.

I’ve been fascinated by the many different reactions to the movie Alien, and some reactions have been unisexual while others have been, so far, 100% gender-based.

If you remember the movie,…[Read more]

Have a  great week!

@ Enco

There’s no greed involved in the inflation? Shortages of supplies and supply line problems drove the pandemic-related inflation,  but clearly a lot of companies are treating pricing like a ratchet system that can only go in one direction. Now that the supply and supply line problems have greatly eased, have the prices gone back down or…[Read more]

@ Enco

If every family made a living wage from one income source and had one stay at home parent, our society would be much healthier physically and mentally.

Having someone at home to send them off or take them to school on time, to greet them or pick them up afterward, to make sure they do their homework and get to bed early enough to get the…[Read more]

They are not the only such societies.

Simon Paynton wrote:

Simon Paynton wrote:
They’re both dominance hierarchies.

I think they operate through a mixture of coercion and consent.

Coercion OR consent. Of course, in a large-scale complex society as in the West, it’s neither one nor the other. Those who disagree with the arrangement may feel coerced, but the coercion  comes not fr…[Read more]

Simon Paynton wrote:

Unseen wrote:
Both matriarchies and patriarchies can be egalitarian or nonegalitarian.

They’re both dominance hierarchies.

That’s a prejudicial characterization. Men or women can have a predominant role in terms of decision-making by being deferred to rather than lording over the other gender.

Whenever I go on a date I often ask her if she is happy for me to pay. Almost always it’s “Let’s go Dutch”. Once, in a higher end restaurant, I heard the words “I will get it this time and you can pay the next time” and delivered with a smile. Great, I will even get a few extra sachets of ketchup so, I replied, returning the smile.

One of the constant intellectual needs we have is to always be ready think “Maybe I got it all wrong,” and for that we need iconoclasts to kind of slap us in the face with the unthinkable.

In the arena of this discussion, nobody can do that better than Camille Paglia. Here she argues that men are the weaker sex and that that basically (and…[Read more]

@ Simon

I’m still searching for that successful matriarchy. Patriarchy has a history of working. As for egalitarianism, that isn’t a system in the way patriarchy and matriarchy are. It’s a description of implementation. Both matriarchies and patriarchies can be  egalitarian or nonegalitarian.

When it comes to being civil and polite, I treat all people equally unless they have given me a reason not to do so.  I will hold a door open for any person. 99% of the time a thanks or a smile is offered in return.  The times neither is forthcoming are of no concern to me.  Good manners cost nothing.