December, 2009

Reflections on Dead Horses, Semantic Confusion, and Straw Men

by John Hasnas
The Conversation
December 29th, 2009

I read Timothy Sandefur’s latest contribution to our on-line conversation with interest. I do not believe, however, that I am able to respond in an interesting way. It appears to me that Mr. Sandefur and I are talking past each other. We are using the essential terms of the debate in different ways, and apparently [...]

Read: Reflections on Dead Horses, Semantic Confusion, and Straw Men

Is “Know It When I See It” Enough?

by Timothy Sandefur
The Conversation
December 22nd, 2009

There’s an old joke about libertarians that goes, “How many libertarians does it take to change a lightbulb?” The answer: “None: if the lightbulb needed changing, the market would have taken care of it.” This joke highlights the problem I have with arguments based on spontaneous order. There’s no doubt that there are such things [...]

Read: Is “Know It When I See It” Enough?