The Committee probably went as far as it could Gary Judd writes – What the Committee did The Regulation Review Committee decided (1) that making tikanga a compulsory subject for law students did not unduly trespass on personal rights and liberties, but (2) requiring tikanga to be incorporated in the other compulsory subjects was an […]
The Regulation Review Committee’s tikanga decision
The Regulation Review Committee’s tikanga decision
07 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of education, economics of regulation, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational regulation, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Colin Wright gives a history of the gametic definition of biological sex
04 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, evolutionary biology, free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
As everyone knows, I adhere to the gametic definition of sex, in which individuals are classified as male or female (or, as in hermaphroditic plants, both sexes in one individual) based on whether their bodies are set up to produce small, mobile gametes (the “males”) or large, immobile gametes (the “females”). I’ve explained why I […]
Colin Wright gives a history of the gametic definition of biological sex
Judith Butler on Trump’s EOs, with an emphasis on sex and gender
04 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, health economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
The latest issue of the London Review of Books contains a long essay by Judith Butler attacking Trump’s Executive Orders, particularly 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” You can read her piece by clicking on the title below: The piece constitutes good news, bad news, […]
Judith Butler on Trump’s EOs, with an emphasis on sex and gender
Equality of suffrage seen as bad by Radio NZ
31 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, discrimination, politics - New Zealand Tags: Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell has a simple proposed members’ bill to amend the Bill of Rights Act to have equal suffrage extend to local government. Equal suffrage is a fundamental human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will […]
Equality of suffrage seen as bad by Radio NZ
Auckland Uni Law School teacher: we must decolonize the universities and undo the damage of the “colonial project”
18 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
It’s not so surprising that Auckland University harbors a Māori activist like Eru Kapa-Kingi; what is surprising is that Auckland University has publicized his words and activities, amd they seem proud of them! For Kapa-Kingi’s goal is apparently to decolonize not just Auckland University (once the best university in New Zealand, now a hotpot of identity […]
Auckland Uni Law School teacher: we must decolonize the universities and undo the damage of the “colonial project”
Harvard Professor Calls for the Firing of Any Faculty Not Supporting “Gender-Affirming” Policies
15 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
The anti-free speech movement in the United States was largely an outgrowth of higher education where viewpoint intolerance has taken hold of many schools. Indeed, intolerance and orthodoxy are often defended on the left in the name of tolerance and pluralism. Harvard Professor Timothy McCarthy is one of those voices demanding the removal of faculty […]
Harvard Professor Calls for the Firing of Any Faculty Not Supporting “Gender-Affirming” Policies
Dawkins and Pinker discuss evolution
14 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, evolution, evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Here’s Richard Dawkins ostensibly discussing his new book (The Genetic Book of the Dead) with Steve Pinker, but of course you can’t confine a discussion between these two to a single book. Even from the beginning it ranges widely, in which Pinker discusses not only the epiphany that The Selfish Gene gave him, but levels […]
Dawkins and Pinker discuss evolution
Bill Maher presents new posters
13 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, television, TV shows Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
The latest 8-9 minute comedy/news bit hasn’t yet been posted on YouTube, but there is a two-minute chuckle on new posters reflecting America’s new set of allies. It’s called “Rosie the Pivoter,” and here it is:
Bill Maher presents new posters
Inability to understand te reo Māori does not prevent people from asking questions about race relations in New Zealand
12 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, income redistribution, International law, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Ananish Chaudhuri writes – Dame Anne Salmond recently wrote a column on Newsroom berating people for having views on the Treaty of Waitangi when they cannot even read the Māori version of the treaty. So, what she is saying is that even when customs, laws or treaties impinge on your daily life, you cannot hold any views […]
Inability to understand te reo Māori does not prevent people from asking questions about race relations in New Zealand
The WaPo describes (and distorts) a big “culture war” in New Zealand
10 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, discrimination, economic history, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: affirmative action, Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, media bias, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
ADDENDUM: See added comments and clarifications under “addendum” at bottom. ******************** I’ve written many times about the battle of the indigenous people in New Zealand (the Māori) to get their “way of knowing”—which includes a lot of superstition and unreliable word-of-mouth “knowledge,” as well as legends and morality—adopted as official policy or as a “way […]
The WaPo describes (and distorts) a big “culture war” in New Zealand
Gavin Newsom breaks with “progressive” Democrats, proclaims that trans-identified men competing in women’s sports is “unfair”
10 Mar 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
It’s not only unconscionable for “progressive” Democrats to cheer on trans-identified males (“transwomen”) who compete in women’s sports, but that behavior certainly hurt the Democrats, especially because most Americans, including Democrats, think that this kind of participation should be forbidden: A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority…
Gavin Newsom breaks with “progressive” Democrats, proclaims that trans-identified men competing in women’s sports is “unfair”
Bill Maher’s New Rule: Guilt by Civilization
09 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, discrimination, economic history, economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, property rights, television, TV shows Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left, The Great Enrichment
For some reason Bill Maher’s latest comedy/news video, “New Rules: Guilt by Civilization”, is age-restricted (it must be the photo of Bianca Censori in her see-through outfit) , but you can see it by clicking either here or on the “Watch on YouTube” line below. The beginning is great, as Maher claims that the Democrats […]
Bill Maher’s New Rule: Guilt by Civilization
Should we ditch the word “gender”?
06 Mar 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
I’ve written sentences like this many times: “While biological sex is a binary, gender in humans forms more of a spectrum.” But I was never really sure what “gender” meant. I know that it’s generally synonymous with “sex”, but that is clearly not what I meant when I spoke as I did above. What did […]
Should we ditch the word “gender”?
RICHARD PREBBLE: Letter of resignation from the Waitangi Tribunal
06 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, discrimination, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Hon Tama Potaka Minister of Maori Development 28 February 2025 Dear Minister, After careful consideration I must resign as a Member of the Waitangi Tribunal. The treaty is not just our founding document, it makes New Zealand unique. Two peoples peacefully agreeing to form a nation. Over the summer I have been reading Tribunal reports […]
RICHARD PREBBLE: Letter of resignation from the Waitangi Tribunal
The fundamental fallacy of the “sex spectrum”
24 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, 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
While thinking about about objections to the sex binary—usually discussed in humans but sometimes in other species—they all seem to come down to a single assertion: “Sex is complicated in both development and expression, involving chromosomes, behavior, hormones, genitals and even psychology. Therefore there are more than two sexes.” One example of this is from […]
The fundamental fallacy of the “sex spectrum”
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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