What is Corporatism?

Robert Locke writes one of the most thorough and well thought-out articles on political economics I have read in a very long time. The words “socialism” and “fascism” have been abused by misuse for so long they have essentially lost their meaning. I prefer the word “statism”, as a blanket word to cover many kinds of political control (but I realize this is too broad to be effective.)

Locke uses the word “corporatism”, which has a very specific meaning and is far more accurate then any other word commonly used in the public. To Locke, corporatism is particularly dangerous because all nearly all-major political ideologies support it in one way or another. The slow drift towards corporatism has been steady sense the turn of the 19^th century.

His article is a good read, be sure to check it out.  

My Sister Blog

I usually don’t talk about myself or my family, but this is fun enough to share. My little sister, a university student living in New York City, has made a blog, called Dating With Myself, about the perils and joys of doing things by oneself. Recently, she just saw Slumdog Millionaire.

As for my other little sister, she just won first lace in her track meet relay. So my family is doing quite well, in case you where wondering.

I Like this Guy

Just watch:

Everything's amazing, nobody's happy.

The world we created around ourselves really is incredible, I wish people saw it more. No, instead we decide to text each other about the dehumanizing affects of technology while sipping Jamba Juices in the middle of a metro area (true story.) Brats.

Astounding News

This article speaks for itself: UCLA team creates functional neurons from adult somatic cells. Yes, it’s pop science, but good pop science.

Keynesian Myths

Harry Binswanger talks very eloquently about the current stimulus and the economical philosophy that underlines it. Besides the first few opining paragraphs (which I think detracted from the main theme of the article) it is quite good:

Read it here.

Binswanger sums up recent silliness well by the end of the article:

"It is amazing that in this crisis, which is a crisis of over- consumption, over-borrowing, too little liquidity, the government's idea of a "stimulus" is to encourage more consumption, more borrowing, and less liquidity. It is especially amazing when all these points were known and well explicated by the classical economists, from Adam Smith on."

Amazing and Fantastical!

I swear I’ll post something significant soon, really. I have some mind-blowing posts in the works.

Wow, This Guy is Good

The Electric Bass Guitar gets a bad rap, even by those who like it. How often had I heard: “well, it’s not as showy as the lead guitar or singer, but the bass provides an important service to the team?” That sounds like the half-hearted support garbage men and people who deal with human waste seem to get; the kind of support that just ends up being condescending.

Well, I think the electric bass is a fine instrument in its own right. Just listen to this: