A New Book on Neocons

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If one wants to get into how a group of Trotskyists became anti-communist liberals and then turned into firebrand neo-conservatives (or just outright firebrand conservatives), Jacob Heilbrunn has got a book for you, "They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons". He should know something; he was a neocon. Though, as the reviewer says, this perhaps carries some disadvantage since he has an axe to grind, but that might be a selling point for a lot of us.

I don't think the book is going to fit in my crowded reading list. I'm pretty happy with just this book review, heh.

( book review )

xXx

A New Book on Neocons

♠
If one wants to get into how a group of Trotskyists became anti-communist liberals and then turned into firebrand neo-conservatives (or just outright firebrand conservatives), Jacob Heilbrunn has got a book for you, "They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons". He should know something; he was a neocon. Though, as the reviewer says, this perhaps carries some disadvantage since he has an axe to grind, but that might be a selling point for a lot of us.

I don't think the book is going to fit in my crowded reading list. I'm pretty happy with just this book review, heh.

( book review )

xXx

Kinsley's Refresher Course on Libertarianism

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Michael Kinsley gives us a refresher course on libertarianism, it's pros and cons. I like this one nugget:

Llibertarians are quick to see hidden costs of ignoring libertarian principles and slow to see such costs in adhering to them. For example, Tucker Carlson reports in the Dec. 31 New Republic that Ron Paul wants to end the federal ban on unpasteurized milk. No one should want to drink unpasteurized milk, and almost no one does. Paul himself doesn't. But it bothers him that the government tells people they cannot do something they shouldn't do.Libertarians would say that if most people want pasteurized milk, the market will supply it. Firms will emerge to certify that milk has been pasteurized. These firms will compete, keeping them honest.

So yes, a Rube Goldberg contraption of capitalism could replace a straightforward government regulation. But what if you aren't interested in turning your grocery shopping into an ideological adventure? All that is lost by letting the government take care of it is the right of a few idiots to be idiots. That right deserves respect. But not much.

Kinsley is giving a backhanded tribute to the school of thought, as it is a good prism through which to ask first questions about government and policies, but he is also clearly on the popular side of appreciating the limits of this political philosophy.

xXx

Kinsley's Refresher Course on Libertarianism

♠
Michael Kinsley gives us a refresher course on libertarianism, it's pros and cons. I like this one nugget:

Llibertarians are quick to see hidden costs of ignoring libertarian principles and slow to see such costs in adhering to them. For example, Tucker Carlson reports in the Dec. 31 New Republic that Ron Paul wants to end the federal ban on unpasteurized milk. No one should want to drink unpasteurized milk, and almost no one does. Paul himself doesn't. But it bothers him that the government tells people they cannot do something they shouldn't do.Libertarians would say that if most people want pasteurized milk, the market will supply it. Firms will emerge to certify that milk has been pasteurized. These firms will compete, keeping them honest.

So yes, a Rube Goldberg contraption of capitalism could replace a straightforward government regulation. But what if you aren't interested in turning your grocery shopping into an ideological adventure? All that is lost by letting the government take care of it is the right of a few idiots to be idiots. That right deserves respect. But not much.

Kinsley is giving a backhanded tribute to the school of thought, as it is a good prism through which to ask first questions about government and policies, but he is also clearly on the popular side of appreciating the limits of this political philosophy.

xXx

Bye, Bye GreatestJournal

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there are various issues with GJ - at this point we don't have the resources to fix them / update code and servers (we tried for months). Site and Journals stay ASIS and won't get lost.

We recommend http://InsaneJournal.com with brand new servers and highly motivated admin and mods.

-- GreatestJournal

Wow, that surrpised me. I knew the place was becoming secondary in the LJ-type blogosphere, but they always promised to stay in business. Right now, I cannot log in and that is where I have been storing just about all the links I use to my favorite sites. It's an odd habit, I admit, but now I'm a little stuck. Hopefully, they will at least enable us to log in sometime, at which point I will save my links elswhere.

Maybe it is time to play with that export tool. LJ has also been questionable in terms of policy lately, and it might be a good trick to know.

xXx

Bye, Bye GreatestJournal

♠
there are various issues with GJ - at this point we don't have the resources to fix them / update code and servers (we tried for months). Site and Journals stay ASIS and won't get lost.

We recommend http://InsaneJournal.com with brand new servers and highly motivated admin and mods.

-- GreatestJournal

Wow, that surrpised me. I knew the place was becoming secondary in the LJ-type blogosphere, but they always promised to stay in business. Right now, I cannot log in and that is where I have been storing just about all the links I use to my favorite sites. It's an odd habit, I admit, but now I'm a little stuck. Hopefully, they will at least enable us to log in sometime, at which point I will save my links elswhere.

Maybe it is time to play with that export tool. LJ has also been questionable in terms of policy lately, and it might be a good trick to know.

xXx