Idiocy: The Recurring Theme of Gambling Discourse
The latest piece of depressing stupidity I wish to discuss is a new proposal to make Cairns a “gambling hub” of Queensland by moving every single poker machine in Queensland to Cairns. For more, see here.
Of course, the State’s four main casinos will be exempt.
And naturally, the drive behind this new proposal is the old mainstay of moral panic.
I’ve Been Thinking, or, A Proposed Taxonomy of Economic Ideologies
My previous discussion about whether or not we classical liberals should use the term “free market” as opposed to “capitalism” has made me think a little more about how we classify economic ideologies (not real world economic systems or the practical results of the implementation of any economic ideology).
The Nolan Chart classifies actual economic systems according to their real world level of state control. But, take for instance Proudhon-style Free-Market Anarchism (i.e. Mutualism). This ideology would, like classical liberalism, have a low “Statism” rank. Yet there are many differences between Mutualism and Classical Liberalism (for one, the former accepts the Labor Theory of Value).
I am suggesting a way to classify various economic ideologies that can at least come close to accepting these differences. Note that, unlike the Nolan Chart, this form of classification applies only to economic ideologies (and takes no position on social matters).
Thoughts On “The C Word”
The question I pose here may seem like one of semantics, but I believe it is important.
Should us libertarians/classical liberals use the word “Capitalism” to describe our economic preferences?
I wish to argue that we should not, because it creates unnecessary ideological confusion. This is because the word has multiple definitions.
Stupidity: An Example
Stupidity: An Example Or Another One For The Horror File
by Andrew Russell
I come not with a basket of gifts, but rather an object of terror. An object so fundamentally horrifying that merely to gaze upon its logical contortions will drive man insane. A glimpse of it will reveal that facts are but mere putty and our puny minds are insufficient to grasp the true nature of anything. Our ignorance is a comfort; I wish to take it away.
Are you ready to glimpse upon that which man was not meant to know?
Then read this.
I want to thank Wendy McElroy for the tipoff.
Now, suspending my Lovecraft impersonations, merely the title of this BusinessDay piece should cause every single person who reads this article to collapse in laughter. Ayn Rand apparently is the mastermind behind a series of highly complex economic shifts that cause the entire world to crumble… It seems that leftists prefer the thought of “all masterminded by one malevolent central planner” to the alternatives (maybe the idea of “one evil mastermind” appeals to their Constructivist Rationalism; if one evil central planner can ruin the world, then one good central planner can fix it, perhaps?).
On Bullying And The Debate About Corporal Punishment In Schools
The recent launch of anti-bullying campaigns in Australian high schools has brought up public discussion on whether or not the use of corporal punishment should be re-implemented in Australian education.
This, as is par for the course in newspapers, is accompanied by a stew of other articles complaining about our youth in decline. Youth binge drinking and violence against teachers are other examples. The Myth of Cultural Degeneracy is unfortunately alive and well, in spite of the fact that there is simply no conclusive proof things are actually worse these days. Really, the news just can’t find something else to panic about so they manufacture another worry to make us watch news reports.
The stabbing of Elliott Fletcher, a 12 year old student at St. Patricks Catholic boy’s school, is an undeniable tragedy, but there is absolutely no reason to believe that it is somehow indicative of a systematic increase in bullying as a whole. Regardless, the incident did trigger Kevin Rudd to speak on the subject of bullying, and the federal Opposition to introduce an anti-bullying policy.
Attention Whore
Attention Whore
by Andrew Russell
It turns out that my last post was indeed convenient!
Video Game Blog Kotaku has recently revealed (via http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/11/atkinson-to-appeal-modern-warfare-2-ma15-classification/) that South Australian Attorney General and arch nemesis to all video game lovers in Australia, Michael Atkinson (member for Croydon) is going to appeal the MA15+ rating for the video game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ and attempt to ‘persuade’ the OFLC to refuse the game classification; essentially asking for the game to be banned.
I am not interested in Modern Warfare 2, however I believe several things about this game make Atkinson’s move rather significant.
- Modern Warfare 2 is an extremely critically acclaimed game which many video game fans have been anticipating for a long time.
- The game has had an extraordinary amount of advertising and media coverage; on the first day of the game’s release the game made US$310 million in the US and UK alone. This makes Modern Warfare 2 the largest entertainment launch in history.
- The game was released on November 10. The game cleared the OFLC’s procedures and bureaucracy a rather long time ago.
Thus, Atkinson is attacking a game which has already been released and had spent a very significant amount of time being classified. He could have checked out this game’s content (and then go to the press to launch a moral panic) when it was being ran through the OFLC. Doing this is well within his powers.
But he didn’t.
Why?
-
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