Jason Kuznicki

You Probably Think This Blog Post Is About You

by Jason Kuznicki on May 19, 2012

Boegiboe and I are headed to Las Vegas a little early — as in, today. While we’re there, we’ll be seeing the total eclipse of the sun. And all the fun things Vegas more regularly has on offer.

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Natural Rights, Naturally

by Jason Kuznicki on May 19, 2012

A long, long post about my views on natural rights theory, much of it recycled from my defunct blogs. Prompted by some of Tod’s questions below. Continue reading this post…

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Disaster, Again

by Jason Kuznicki on May 15, 2012

Says the Washington Post. Continue reading this post…

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Friday Night Jukebox: Fight Test

by Jason Kuznicki on May 11, 2012

From the best album of pop music I expect to see in my lifetime, the Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Been on my mind for all kinds of personal reasons, maybe obvious. And a great song for triggering the runner’s high, if those weren’t enough:

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Advertising and Manipulation

by Jason Kuznicki on May 2, 2012

This morning I saw a pretty young woman wearing a T-shirt from Brooklyn Brewery. Involuntarily, I recalled the last time I’d had some of their beer. It was pretty good, I remembered. I should get some on the way home.

In other words, the advertising worked.

Now, Brooklyn makes some very good stuff. Often phenomenal stuff. But honestly, there’s no way I’d be buying any of it except for the gentle reminder I got this morning.

Questions for the League:

Assuming I buy the beer, did I get manipulated?
Was I trying to manipulate you just now, and did you resent it?
Assuming I don’t buy the beer, does that make me more virtuous in some sense?
Given all the other ads that I never respond to, how virtuous do I need to be?
Would your opinion of my choices change if you knew that the young woman was a paid advertiser?
And if you knew that she was not?

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Sandefur: Voting for Obama

by Jason Kuznicki April 29, 2012

A bit of a surprise, but his reasons are solid. Particularly on dividing the government and on judicial appointments. I’m still undecided, but the leading contenders are Gary Johnson and “don’t vote, it just encourages the bastards.” Obama wins Maryland with or without my help, of course.

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13.1

by Jason Kuznicki April 25, 2012

See that fellow over there? He’s running a half marathon. He’s probably in a world of pain. Possibly, though, he’s running laps around heaven itself. It’s 6:10AM, last Saturday. It helps that I’m a morning person. I never need to set an alarm. I’m just awake. I suit up. Contact lenses. Take the asthma meds. Put on the iPod. Head out. My dad taught me long distance running. I don’t think he meant to give me a safe, cheap, legal, ...

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Why I Read Bryan Caplan

by Jason Kuznicki April 24, 2012

I know I often disagree with him. But then there’s stuff like this: “What’s stopping Warren Buffett from paying more taxes?” is a red herring. The fundamental question is: “Why is government’s share of the voluntary donations market so damn small?” All genuinely charitable donations suffer from the Prisoners’ Dilemma… That’s probably a big part of the reason why charity is only a few percent of GDP. But none of this explains why out of the more $300 billion that ...

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Why is that UC Davis Cop Still on the Job?

by Jason Kuznicki April 20, 2012

Radley Balko explains. The short answer? Public sector unions. Occupiers, be careful what you wish for.

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Tax Credits and Subsidies

by Jason Kuznicki April 19, 2012

My former colleague Will Wilkinson offers some insightful comments on our intuitions regarding taxes, subsidies, and fiscal policy. To wit: I think the assumption on the right is that first we work to make money on the market, and then later the government swoops in and takes a bite from the fruit of our labour. And that’s acceptable, up to a point. The government has important work to do. It needs money. And we all ought to pay our fair ...

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U.C. Davis Investigation…

by Jason Kuznicki April 12, 2012

…confirms common sense about that atrocious pepper spray incident last fall. Added touches: the cops acted against orders; they were untrained and unauthorized to use the spray; and — what else? — a sex panic. Figures that anything this fished up would just have to involve a sex panic too. From the report: “On balance, there is little factual basis supporting Lt. Pike’s belief that he was trapped by the protesters or that his officers were prevented from leaving the ...

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Other Than That, Mrs. Lincoln, How Was the Nineteenth Century?

by Jason Kuznicki April 3, 2012

Even more of that discussion I can’t believe we’re having. Here I’ll argue that a strict, property-and-contract-only libertarian should still detest the nineteenth century. On his own terms.

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Coverture and Liberty

by Jason Kuznicki April 2, 2012

In which we return to a time that Bryan Caplan appears to love… blindly. Inexplicably. Sort of embarrassingly. I mean the nineteenth century. Back in 2010, Bryan wrote that the legal regime of coverture must have been pretty good for women. Sure, they forfeited all their legal rights, but look at how many of them got married anyway! And if they didn’t like it, they could surely have contracted around it. If they didn’t, they must have been happy. This, ...

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Timothy Sandefur at PLF

by Jason Kuznicki March 28, 2012

My friend Timothy Sandefur just happens to be one of the country’s leading libertarian public-interest attorneys. He’s doing some great work explaining and commenting on the Obamacare case at the Pacific Legal Foundation’s blog. Also see his liveblog of standing in line for the hearing. He’s a braver man than I.

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Obamacare at the Supreme Court

by Jason Kuznicki March 27, 2012

After listening to the audio, my sense is that there are only two likely rulings —

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The Secret Hearts of Politicians

by Jason Kuznicki March 27, 2012

Rojas spots a fun little contradiction: *If you believe that Barack Obama has spent the last decade hiding his secret beliefs on the subject of religion, and that his public stance on the matter is a veneer intended to make him electable, you are a neanderthal racist. *If you believe that Barack Obama has spent the last decade hiding his secret beliefs on the subject of gay marriage, and that his public stance on the matter is a veneer intended ...

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The Hunger Games and Politics

by Jason Kuznicki March 26, 2012

So what did I think? The Hunger Games is about the empire of economic necessity. If you’re a human being, congratulations. You’re playing the hunger games too. Within just a few hours, you will need clean water, food, shelter from predators and the elements, possibly medical care, and even sometimes safety from each other. How do you get these goods? In the empire of economic necessity, there are basically two ways. One, you can take risks and work hard. Two, ...

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Plain Dumb Luck

by Jason Kuznicki March 22, 2012

In my perfect world, I’d have Michel Foucault’s old job: Professor of the History of Systems of Thought at the Collège de France. Here’s a bit of what I might want to teach.

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Odium Surplus/Odium Deficit

by Jason Kuznicki March 19, 2012

A common way to talk about crime and punishment is to liken them to debt and repayment: A crime creates a debt to society; if the criminal is caught and convicted, a just sentence will ensure his debt is repaid, but nothing more. This analogy appeals partly because it explains victimless crimes a lot better than a harm-and-restitution approach. If we agree that society has an ongoing interest in you, then it’s reasonable for society to enforce its rights against ...

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Trust Me, Kids — Peace Is Actually Pretty Awesome

by Jason Kuznicki March 16, 2012

James Fallows continues the Iran War watch. I can hardly believe, after all this country has been through, that we are seriously considering another war. Sold to us, I’d add, by the very same people who sold us the Iraq War. And on the very same terms. I spent yesterday afternoon talking to some exceptionally smart high school students about the Cato Institute, its mission, and its activities. Selfishly, I left a lot of time for questions. I always learn ...

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Henry Farrell’s Modest Proposal

by Jason Kuznicki March 13, 2012

He first notes a contrast: On the one side of the balance sheet, we have Richard B. Cheney. This gentleman, now in private life, is a self-admitted and unrepentant perpetrator of war crimes – specifically, of ordering the torture of Al Qaeda detainees. Along with other senior members of the Bush regime, he is also guilty of the outsourcing of even viler forms of torture through the extraordinary rendition of individuals to regimes notorious for torturing prisoners (including the dispatch ...

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