Last week my 13-year-old at Wakatipu High studied in English “An introduction to culture and identity in literature”. The class guide was as follows: Below are some links to helpful clips that may be useful for understanding ‘The Why’ when it comes to teaching and learning about all things culture and identity through a Te…
RODNEY HIDE: Schooling Through a Te Ao Maori Lens
RODNEY HIDE: Schooling Through a Te Ao Maori Lens
16 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: age of empires, Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, economics of colonialism, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Apparent independent and multiple evolution of binary sex
15 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
My friend Phil Ward at UC Davis found this reference and called it to my attention. It’s from the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (B), and access is free (click on title below). The pdf with the numbered references is here. The paper is about how the evolution of two different types of gametes […]
Apparent independent and multiple evolution of binary sex
No War, No Peace – Trotsky’s Gamble I THE GREAT WAR Week 186
15 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Russian revolution, World War I
A group letter to the presidents of three evolution/ecology societies objecting to their characterization of sex as a spectrum in humans and all other species
14 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, gender gap, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
As I reported recently, the Presidents of three organismal-biology societies, the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) sent a declaration addressed to President Trump and all the members of Congress. Implicitly claiming that its sentiments were endorsed by the 3500 members […]
A group letter to the presidents of three evolution/ecology societies objecting to their characterization of sex as a spectrum in humans and all other species
More on the “three-societies letter” about sex
11 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Here’s a quick update on my critique of a letter issued by three organismal-biology-society Presidents claiming that sex isn’t binary—not in humans and, indeed, not in any species. The signers were the Presidents of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB), […]
More on the “three-societies letter” about sex
Free Sociology
11 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, libertarianism, Marxist economics, politics - USA
I met Fabio Rojas in January of 1990 when we were both freshmen at UC Berkeley. In 1994, he was the best man at my wedding. Now he’s the chairman of Indiana University’s Sociology Department. Last year, he and Charlotta Stern published Sociology and Classical Liberalism in Dialogue: Freedom is Something We Do Together. Here,…
Free Sociology
Ideology trumps biology: Three evolution societies again issue a misleading statement about the definition of sex (Post #30,000)
10 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
I wish I had a happier post for number 30,000, but you’re stuck with this one. However, it’s in line with the kind of stuff I’ve been writing about for a while, so it’s appropriate. Today we must deal with a letter from the Presidents of three organismal evolution and ecology societies (The Society for […]
Ideology trumps biology: Three evolution societies again issue a misleading statement about the definition of sex (Post #30,000)
“WE ARE AT WAR!”: Democrats Ramp Up Rage Rhetoric as Tensions Mount Across the Country
09 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Democratic leaders continued to ramp up their “rage rhetoric” following the inauguration. We have already seen violent protests and planned assassinations directed against Trump Administration figures. Despite the growing tensions, Democrats are ratcheting up claims of a “coup” and calling for Democrats to “fight in the streets.” After failing to win the election with claims […]
“WE ARE AT WAR!”: Democrats Ramp Up Rage Rhetoric as Tensions Mount Across the Country
NCAA bans transgender athletes from women’s sports
09 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, sports economics Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
(This is my 29,994th post, so we’ll reach 30,000 by the end of the weekend. I don’t know what to think about that!) I think we all know now that most Americans, and a majority of individuals in both Democratic and Republican parties, oppose the participation of trans-identified males in women’s sports, presumably on the […]
NCAA bans transgender athletes from women’s sports
Science is science
07 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
Science, fundamentally, is a universal methodology grounded in observation, experimentation, and evidence. The term “Western science” can be misleading as it suggests a geographical or cultural monopoly over scientific inquiry, which is not the case. Science transcends regional and cultural boundaries; its principles are based on empirical evidence that is objective and replicable, regardless of […]
Science is science
“Crucial Conversations”: Federal Court Rules Against Ohio State in Free Speech Case
07 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
We have previously discussed cases (here, here, here, here, and here) of professors being fired or suspended for using offensive terms such as the n-word in discussions or tests. I have generally argued that such usage is protected on free speech and academic freedom grounds. Now, a federal judge has ruled against Ohio State University […]
“Crucial Conversations”: Federal Court Rules Against Ohio State in Free Speech Case
Trigger warnings of old
06 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Identity-based hiring goes wild in New Zealand
05 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: affirmative action, Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Just to show you how, in the hiring process, New Zealand gives much more weight to identity than to merit, I enclose part of the job description for the position of Chief Operating Officer of Wellington Water, the water utility for the Greater Wellington region (Wellington, a lovely city, is the capital of New Zealand). […]
Identity-based hiring goes wild in New Zealand
*Progressive Myths*: The Caplan-Huemer Interview
05 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in econometerics, economic history, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
I recently interviewed Mike Huemer on his new Progressive Myths. To repeat, I consider it “the best book on wokeness.” You know you’re reading a special book by page 3, when Huemer states:I will not give a neutral presentation in the following chapters, but I do aim to give an objective presentation. I am a…
*Progressive Myths*: The Caplan-Huemer Interview
Mocking European Statism
04 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, financial economics, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, survivor principle, theory of the firm Tags: employment law, European Union
I have a special page for humor involving Europe, but I have not added to it since sharing some Brexit humor in 2016. Let’s being the process of catching up with some amusing cartoons and memes mocking our government-loving cousins on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I’ve made the serious point that bureaucrats […]
Mocking European Statism
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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