As with so many other aspects of economics, the origin of money gets caught up in politics. Many theorists want their preferred model of political economy to become self-evident from their analysis of what money is. Libertarians want to exclude the state from control of money and therefore assert that… Read More »The Origin of Money in Sumer
These two parables appear in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27. The parallel narratives of a wealthy traveller, entrusting his servants with a lot of money, are similar enough that many commentators treat them as the same parable. One common interpretation of these parables has the wealthy traveller as God, with… Read More »A Theology of Money and Interest? Reflections on the Parable of the Talents / Ten Minas
Western pundits are fond of calling President Putin an autocrat and denigrating Russia as not a democracy. However their crocodile tears would be better shed at home, where lack of democratic legitimacy is at least as bad, if not worse. In the 2024 election in the UK, Labour secured a… Read More »Shed a (crocodile) tear for democracy
On Method I use the terms “calvinist” and “arminian” as a shorthand for the two basic positions. Not to say that those two people believed or taught these specific things, but that their names have become associated with these positions. Even within the two major positions there are a number… Read More »Determinism or Free Will?
Suppose there is a group of 20 children in the class, and they all like apples. Would you rather….a) give one apple to each of the 20 childrenb) give three apples to a random 10 of the children, and nothing to the other 10Which do you choose? Option (a) looks… Read More »Apples
Social organisations are inherently small-c conservative, in that over time, they tend to become more cautious, more inclined to stick with what has gone before, and less open to radical change. This applies all the way from small community organisations to the governments of countries and leadership of huge businesses.… Read More »Why organisations are inherently conservative
It would be nice if guaranteeing equality of outcomes could lead to a happier society, but it’s never going to happen. Communism is generally considered to be a political and economic system which is characterised by common ownership of the means of production and free access to the articles of… Read More »Why Communism must be Coercive
In part 1, we looked at Violence, Trade and Law, with regard to Property. The Origin of Property In 1797, Sade wrote “Tracing the right of property back to its source, one infallibly arrives at usurpation. However, theft is only punished because it violates the right of property; but this right… Read More »On Property : 2 : Justice
When two strangers meet, and one desires something which the other has, the two have two options before them, whether they be individuals, ethnic groups, corporations, or nations. The first option is force: violence or the threat of violence. This option is chosen unilaterally by one party, believing themselves stronger,… Read More »On Property : 1 : Violence, Trade and Law
Humanists assert there are no gods, but that a non-god morality is still possible. Herewith, a straw man, based on different assumptions, to the ones I hold myself. Evolutionists assert that evolution is undirected, and without external meaning. That competition to reproduce is the driving factor. That there is no intrinsic… Read More »The Humanist Delusion