Why does liberty work?
A progressive might say that society is like a flower garden, you need a strong central government to organize and plan its growth, much like a garden requires a competent gardener. A conservative would say that a lighter touch is preferable, a garden will prosper on...
Moral praiseworthiness and coercion
In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle writes that, “Virtue is concerned with the regulation of feelings and actions, and praise and blame arise upon such as are voluntary.” This sentiment has had lasting impact for philosophers of moral responsibility. In his Summa...
Car crashes and hockey fights — how safety mandates can make life more dangerous
Suppose you want to reduce deaths in automobile accidents. Should you make cars safer? Seems like a no-brainer, right? But consider: suppose instead of an airbag in your steering column, we put a six-inch dagger. If you hit something hard head-on, you get the dagger...
Peltzman Effect: to reduce concussions in the NFL, reduce the amount of equipment
Football fans observe the sacred ritual of watching armored behemoths destroy themselves and one another on the football field while gorging themselves on creative and delicious combinations of sugar, fat, salt, and alcohol. While you crack open beer number four and...
