Nuclear Power – Not Now, Not Ever
Nuclear — by Ernest Partridge March 29, 2011
Any citizen with even a casual awareness of the public debate over nuclear power is familiar with the usual talking points, pro and con, regarding this issue: safety, costs, environmental impacts, etc. I will not burden the reader with a rehash of these familiar issues.
Instead, I propose to enrich the debate with some issues with which the general public might be less familiar, all of which issues lead strongly to the conclusion that electric power generation from nuclear reactors should be phased out with deliberate speed and the technology abandoned — permanently.
Comments (7)America as a Free Fire Zone
Society — by Ernest Partridge February 26, 2011
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. — Second Amendment,
United States Constitution
On January 12, thirty thousand people attended a memorial service for the seven victims of the Tucson massacre.
Thirty thousand: that’s about the same number of Americans who died in 2006 from gunshot wounds. Almost one hundred every day.
That is a statistic that stands alone among the civilized nations of the world. The Brady Campaign reports that the annual gun homicides in Finland were 17, in Australia 35, in England and Wales 39, in Spain 60, in Germany 194, in Canada 200, and in the United States 9484. This means that homicides amounted to almost one third of gun deaths in the United States.
Comments (47)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part VII – Some Concluding Questions
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Ernest Partridge October 1, 2010
Part VII of a seven part series. Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V & Part VI.
Our critical examination of libertarianism has left us with some provocative questions, the responses to which will serve as a summary of these essays.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
Is a Well-Ordered Society a Free Gift?
The libertarian regards a morally well-ordered society as a free gift, to which nothing is owed for its maintenance. Accordingly, they argue against the liberals that redistribution of wealth, care for the weak and unfortunate, support of education, the arts and the environment, the promotion of civic pride – none of these is required of the citizen. Presumably, all these will be cared for “spontaneously” as each individual goes about his or her private business. True, private donations to charities and private organizations that aid these unfortunates and support these amenities are morally praiseworthy, but they cannot legitimately be supported by required tax assessments. To do so, the libertarians argue, would constitute involuntary appropriation of private property – in a word, “theft.”
In reply, the liberal cites an additional concept in John Locke’s political writings, conveniently overlooked by libertarian theorists; this is the concept of the social contract. Contract theorists such as Locke, and the contemporary liberal moral philosopher, John Rawls, point out that secure possession of the rights of life, liberty and property, and the orderly functioning of the free market, are only possible in what John Rawls calls a “well ordered society.” Such a society exists he writes:
Comments (11)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part VI – The Inevitability of Government
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, People Systems, Society — by Ernest Partridge September 29, 2010
Part VI of a seven part series. Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV & Part V.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
I think you can spend your money more wisely than the federal government can. – George W. Bush
Those exertions of the natural liberty of a few individuals, which might endanger the security of the whole society, are, and ought to be, restrained by the laws of all governments. – Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
Kill the Umpire!
Comments (11)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part V: Corporations – Invaluable Servants, Ruthless Masters
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Ethical Investment, People Systems, Society — by Ernest Partridge September 28, 2010
Part V of a seven part series. Read Part I, Part II, Part III & Part IV.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
The libertarians’ position on corporations is divided. One faction holds that there should be no legal and regulatory curbs on corporations, since they are the result of free association of individuals. As such, corporations are entitled to full participation in “free markets” which, as we have noted, libertarians fully endorse.
On the other hand, Roderick Long, repeating a point that we made earlier, observes that “corporate power and the free market are actually antithetical; genuine competition is big business’s worst nightmare.” Moreover, Long continues, “Corporate power depends crucially on government intervention in the marketplace. This is obvious enough in the case of the more overt forms of government favoritism such as subsidies, bailouts, and other forms of corporate welfare.” And government interference with markets, as we have noted repeatedly, is the bête noir of libertarians. Long concludes, “small wonder that big business, despite often paying lip service to free market ideals, tends to systematically oppose them in practice.”
Comments (5)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part IV: The Privatization Panacea
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Society — by Ernest Partridge September 23, 2010
Part IV of a seven part series. Read Part I, Part II & Part III.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
In colonial Philadelphia, firefighters were employed by private insurance companies which, of course, had financial incentives to minimize damage to their clients’ properties. Plaques with the insurance company’s insignia were placed on buildings, so that the fire fighters would know whether or not it was “their business” to put out the fires on the premises. (These plaques are often found today in antique shops). If the “wrong” plaque was on the building, well, that was just tough luck. Of course, with their attention confined to a single building, fire fighters were ill-disposed to prevent a spreading of the fire to adjacent “non-client” structures.
Occasionally, when the building’s insurance affiliation was in some doubt, competing fire companies would fight each other for the privilege of putting out the fire, resulting in more water aimed at fire fighters than at burning buildings.
Comments (15)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part III: Market Fundamentalism
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Society — by Ernest Partridge
Part III of a seven part series. Read Part I & Part II.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
The economist . . . keeps the motivations of human beings pure, simple and hard-headed, and not messed up by such things as goodwill or moral sentiments… [T]here is … something quite extraordinary in the fact that economics has in fact evolved in this way, characterizing human motivation in such spectacularly narrow terms. One reason why this is extraordinary is that economics is supposed to be concerned with real people. It is hard to believe that real people could be completely unaffected by the reach of the self-examination induced by the Socratic question, ‘how should one live?” – Amartya Sen1
Libertarians accept the conviction of neo-classical economists that “the free market,” unconstrained by government oversight and regulation, will always produce better results than markets directed by legislation. The free market, they insist, resulting from the “utility maximizing” transactions of numerous autonomous buyers and sellers, “spontaneously” establishes prices and prompts entrepreneurial decisions that yield the best outcome for the society in general. “Good for each, good for all.”
“The wisdom of the market place” is epitomized by the concept of “the invisible hand,” cherished by libertarians, which has its origin in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations.
Comments (5)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part II: The Myth of Social Atomism
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Society — by Ernest Partridge September 22, 2010
Part II of a seven part series. Read Part I here.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
Perhaps the fundamental dispute between libertarians and liberals resides in the ontological status of “society” and “the public.”
Social atomism might well be the foundational doctrine of libertarianism, upon which all other planks of the libertarian platform – market fundamentalism, privatism, minimal government, spontaneous order – are supported. Refute this doctrine, and quite possibly the entire theoretical structure of libertarianism might collapse. Accordingly, the doctrine of social atomism deserves careful critical scrutiny.
Comments (7)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part I: What is Libertarianism?
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, Society — by Ernest Partridge
Editor’s Note: As our present environmental realities are a consequence of the economic and political framework we live within (positive or negative activities are incentivised, disincentivised, encouraged, discouraged, allowed, enforced or outlawed by them), we will run a series on libertarianism over the ensuing days. Part I is below – additional parts will be linked to from the bottom of each as they go up.
Part I of a seven part series.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
A half century ago, when liberalism was ascendant in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, libertarianism was a fringe curiosity. Now it has become a formidable political and economic force in the United States.
No existing democratic governments fully endorse and implement libertarian doctrine, for no national electorate would tolerate so radical a system of political economy. (The Libertarian Party in the United States has never attracted more than one percent of the votes in a Presidential election). Nonetheless, libertarianism deserves careful critical analysis since in theory, if not in practice, it is the ideological “spear-point” of “free market reform” throughout the world. Furthermore, many of its prominent exponents, such as Milton Friedman, F. A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises and Robert Nozick, are highly esteemed by scholars throughout the world. Thus, while its principles may appear stark, unqualified and unyielding and its proposals over-simplistic, because of its widespread and growing influence, libertarianism must be taken very seriously.
Comments (35)Fruit Flies in a Bottle
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Population, Society, peak oil — by Ernest Partridge September 20, 2010
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings. – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
I
Place a few fruit flies in a bottle with a layer of honey at the bottom, and they will quickly multiply to an enormous number, and then, just as quickly, die off to the very last, poisoned by their wastes. Similarly, add a few yeast cells to grape juice, seal the bottle, and the cells will consume the sugar and turn it into alcohol. When the alcohol rises to 12.5% it will kill off all the yeast, and the wine will be ready for the table.
Fruit flies and yeast in a bottle are embarked upon suicidal endeavors. They can’t help it. They don’t know any better, lacking the cognitive equipment to “know” anything at all.
Human beings, we are told, are different. Humans can utilize their accumulated knowledge, evaluate evidence and apply reason, and with these skills and accomplishments they can imagine alternative futures and choose among them to their advantage.
Comments (28)Whose Trees Are These?
Consumerism, Deforestation, Economics, Society — by Ernest Partridge July 30, 2010
Copyright by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
A few years ago, I taped a broadcast of National Public Radio’s "All Things Considered" for listening at a more convenient time later in the day. That broadcast contained a report by Alan Sapporin on the old-growth timber controversy. The logger’s remark which opens this essay is written exactly as I heard it. Unfortunately, this was neither the first, nor the last, time that I have heard such a remark. (EP)
"It’s here to be harvested, and God put it on this Earth to do that, and that’s the way it is."
For logger Archie Sawyer (not his actual name), these trees are for him. It is God’s will.
"The Earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof," saith the scripture. Not so, says Archie Sawyer, who claims, in effect, that the Earth is his, and that God gave it to him. Thus it would seem downright ungrateful, even sacrilegious, for him not to take it.
Comments (6)Property Rights and Public Accommodations
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, People Systems, Society — by Ernest Partridge July 28, 2010
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
In the early sixties, the young black students in the South had had enough.
Enough separate drinking fountains, enough all-night drives because no motel would provide a room, and enough refusal of service at restaurants and lunch counters.
“Screw this,” they said, and so they sat at Woolworth’s lunch counters anyway, where they were taunted, spat upon, beaten, and arrested.
The white restaurant owners resisted, most notably one Lester Maddox in Atlanta who stood at the door of his Pickrick restaurant, axe handle in hand, threatening to use it on any black citizen who might attempt to enter. Enough white Georgia citizens were sufficiently delighted by Maddox’ act of defiance that they elected him Governor of the state.
Comments (11)Privatized Hell
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Ernest Partridge July 23, 2010
Editor’s Note: Some prefer to only talk about swales and banana circles, but I hope enough of you recognise that it’s economic theory, political policy and industry behaviour – and the educational curriculums in our schools that are tailored to appease all three – that have delivered us into this environmental mega-debacle, and that to escape it will require consideration on how to adjust our present invisible structures so they will nurture permaculture systems, rather than be their aggressive adversary, as they are today. There are a few amongst us, ‘libertarians’, who believe that dismantling government, along with the complete privatisation of everything – land, water, air, creatures, etc. – combined with a privatised court system to settle ownership disputes, is a recipe for success. What do you think?
Copyright 2007 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
I
In colonial Philadelphia, firefighters were employed by private insurance companies which, of course, had financial incentives to minimize damage to their clients’ properties. Plaques with the insurance company’s insignia were placed on buildings, so that the fire fighters would know whether or not it was their “business” to put out the fires on the premises. (These plaques are often found today in antique shops). . If a fire alarm was answered by a cadre of fire-fighters from the “wrong” company, that was just tough luck. “Burn, baby, burn!” Many structures were lost while competing companies tried to sort out which was authorized to put out the fire. Many more adjoining structures were consumed by fires that were oblivious to property lines.
Occasionally, when the building’s insurance affiliation was in some doubt, competing fire companies would fight each other for the privilege of putting out the fire, resulting in more water aimed at fire fighters than at burning buildings.
Eventually, the absurdity and outright danger of this system led one prominent Philadelphia citizen to come up with the idea of a publicly funded and administered fire department.
His name was Benjamin Franklin: America’s first anti-free-enterprise commie pinko nut-case.
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