On burden of proof
20 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, liberalism, rentseeking Tags: climate alarmism, conjecture and refutation, green rent seeking, philosophy of science, precautionary principle
100 years of female beauty in one video in Iran
20 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, economics of religion, liberalism Tags: Iran, women's liberation
Whatever happened to progressivism?
19 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Anti-Science left, Leftover Left, quackery
Incredible Decrease in Child Mortality Worldwide in Last 50 Years
18 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in development economics, growth disasters, growth miracles, health economics, liberalism Tags: child mortality, The Great Escape, The Great Fact
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population vote for parties that welcome them
18 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: expressive voting, voter demographics
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population is one of the most Democratic demographic groups in the country. According to the 2012 national exit polls conducted by the National Election Pool, gay, lesbian, and bisexual adults voted for Barack Obama over Mitt Romney by more than three-to-one (76% vs. 22%).
This Democratic advantage can be seen in the partisan identification of LGBT adults, a majority of whom are Democrats. It also expresses itself in policy preferences across a range of issues, including size of government, attitudes about gun policy and immigration…
Half of LGBT adults (50%) self-identify as liberal, 37% are moderate, and just 12% say they are conservative.
That’s hardly surprising that people vote for the parties that welcome them given the deep hostility of the Republican Party on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. Until the middle of the 20th century, few black Americans voted for the Democratic party because it was the party of racism. People rarely vote for parties that really dislike them.
The transferability of these American results on partisanship to New Zealand is rather limited because there is no cultural war as there is in the USA currently over same-sex marriages. A same-sex marriage bill passed the New Zealand Parliament in 2013 fairly easily. The Christian based socially conservative parties in New Zealand are pretty tame in their rhetoric and still struggling to get into Parliament.
As such, the centre right parties in New Zealand aren’t seen as particularly hostile to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population. On the same-sex marriage bill, for example, the National Party split evenly on voting for and against, reflecting its moderation in just about every issue.
People of all sexualities can vote for New Zealand parties on grounds other than the fact of how welcoming they are to who they are. That makes the American results on partisanship and sexuality less relevant to New Zealand
On marijuana, Obama is content to evolve rather than to lead the way – The Washington Post
18 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of media and culture, health economics, liberalism, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: marijuana decriminalisation, medical marijuana decriminalisation
For a lame duck president doing a lot to cultivate his legacy, Obama is really dragging his feet here if he is in any way a social liberal
via On marijuana, Obama is content to evolve rather than to lead the way – The Washington Post.
How the Voting Rights Act immediately changed the electorate in the South – Vox
15 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in liberalism, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: southern States, Voting Rights Act
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The Voting Right Act had a huge impact on many southern states. For example, black voter registration rates in Mississippi increased from a mere 6.7 percent in 1965 to 59.8 percent in 1967, according to the US Commission for Civil Rights.
For a state that’s historically around 40 percent black, this represented a massive shift in politics — a change that much of the predominantly white leadership at the time feared but would have to accept due to the Voting Rights Act.
via How the Voting Rights Act immediately changed the electorate in the South, in 2 charts – Vox.
The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market
14 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in liberalism Tags: anti-vaccination movement, Disneyland, free speech, marketplace for ideas, vaccinations
Cats Are Democrats, Dogs Are Republicans
13 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in cats, liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: cats, dogs
JS Mill on the importance of never saying that the science is settled
12 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, environmental economics, liberalism Tags: climate alarmism, critical discussion, John Stuart Mill, The philosophy of science
Australian top 1% has dropped the ball in the class struggle
10 Mar 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economic growth, economic history, labour economics, liberalism, poverty and inequality, Rawls and Nozick Tags: class struggle, immiseration of the proletariat, Leftover Left, top 1%
How is the immiseration of the proletariat going to occur any time soon, and with it, the workers will rise up because they have nothing to lose but their chains, if the Australian top 1% doesn’t lift its game.
There is a serious lack of greed and expropriation of labour surplus by the top 1% in Australia. Their share of income has been falling for many decades and only increased in the last few years and then only slightly.
The top 1% is supposed to be grinding the working class down, and causing crisis after financial crisis but there’s hardly any of evidence of that in Australian income inequality data.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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