Imagine you’re given the special opportunity to name your own tax rate… The tax rate would only apply to you, and would be good forever. You’re free to keep as much of your income as you’d like, and spend it on whatever you choose. No one else would know what you chose to pay, unless […]
For most of us, most of the time, concepts that exist outside our thought patterns are virtually unreachable. The majority of thoughts we have are limited by personal experience and knowledge, and bounce around in an echo chamber of the mind. It is rare that our entire outlook changes and we’re able to emerge from […]
A concern we often hear regarding the rise of Artificial Intelligence is that it may one day take over humanity. In fact, many people seem to skip several steps of critical thinking and just assume this hostile takeover is an unavoidable eventuality. After all, there’s no time to reflect with the pending cyborg army attack. […]
Voting, like everything else, should be a matter of personal preference. Unfortunately though, sometimes sporting an “I Voted” sticker doesn’t quite satisfy people’s need for virtue-signalling, and they need to take it to the next level: vote-shaming. Here are some common (and demonstrably refutable) claims about voting: “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.” Putting aside […]
In every democratic vote, the will of the larger group is forced upon the minority group. At one point or other every individual subjected to the process finds themselves on the losing side. In most aspects of life, such a process which consistently and unnecessarily produces losers would be considered completely unacceptable…but with politics, it’s a […]
Whenever a service is rendered with a universal flat fee for unlimited use, over-consumption runs rampant. (Consider the lack of self-control at an all-you-can-eat buffet, or the overuse of air-conditioning in a hotel room.) In the case of municipal garbage pickup, households are generally charged a flat rate as part of property tax, and the […]
Looking for government laws to solve problems is literally the last thing we should do. These days, it seems like we’re happy to discard both a sizable chunk of our IQ points and our imagination the moment a societal challenge arises. From school shootings to climate control to concerns about the growth of Artificial Intelligence, […]
The Golden Rule we were all taught as children instructs us to treat others the way we ourselves would like to be treated. It’s a beautifully simple maxim that, if adhered to by adults, would greatly reduce conflict in the world. We expect children to understand and respect the principle, yet for some reason we […]
It’s dangerous to assume that just because something is legal or illegal, it is therefore right or wrong. There is a distinction between what is legal and what is right. After all, the institution of slavery, lack of women’s voting rights, and Nazi treatment of minorities were all perfectly legal, but were also abject moral travesties. […]
Just about everyone has an of idea of what an “ideal society” would look like. Common themes might include no poverty, no conflict, and everyone’s needs being met. The nearly universal desire for such results demonstrates a hallmark of good in humanity. Conflict among individuals and groups arises, however, when these individual ideals of an […]
