May, 2008

Clean Hands in the Global Market

So far the conversation here has centered on the principled arguments for ending our support for some of the most oppressive authoritarian regimes in the world, in countries like Burma, Libya, Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea. Because of a flaw in the system of global commerce, money we spend on our everyday purchases goes back to [...]

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Moving from Deep Theory to the Real World

by Christopher Wellman
The Conversation
May 30th, 2008

John Ghazvinian and Andrei Illarionov have expressed concerns that implementing Wenar’s proposed plan might have considerable unintended consequences. Wenar has responded that his plan will actually trigger incentives to make the world more just. I must confess that, as a philosopher, I am in no position to adjudicate this dispute. It is worth asking, though, [...]

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Enforce Rights, Progress Will Follow

All of us writing for Cato Unbound this month agree that the political and economic conditions in resource-exporting countries like Equatorial Guinea are intolerable, and that the activities of dictators like Teodoro Obiang in perpetuating these conditions are criminal. It will be worthwhile to remind ourselves of the realities of life in a country like [...]

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Sound Policy Is Based on Sound Principles

by Andrei Illarionov
The Conversation
May 30th, 2008

The discussion of Leif Wenar’s lead essay, “We All Own Stolen Goods,” and his follow-up comment, “Living Up to Our Principles,” have clearly exposed some problems with the principles (referred to regularly in both entries, and even in the title of one of them) used as the basis for his policy proposals. I think this [...]

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