Ricky Gervais dropped his bombshell comedy act on Hollywood’s elite at the Golden Globes, and it’s raising some interesting questions. Should Hollywood stars be opining on their particular platforms? This isn’t a comment on the politics of free speech. Clearly, they have the political right to do as they please, provided that the private property owners acquiesce. It’s more of a comment on etiquette. If I were the CEO of a major company, and given that if I were at an office party, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to interrupt the gathering to give a lecture on my religious beliefs. At the...
The Left’s Errors on Taxing Billionaires – Freedom Philosophy
In a public debate concerning the leadership of the United Kingdom, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed that the existence of billionaires in unconscionable. Since then I’ve seen an influx of memes calling billionaires evil. The very notion that someone has made a billion dollars in unacceptable to these people. The time has come for a reality check to the left. They demand higher forms of taxation on billionaires so that their wealth can be redistributed. Jeff Bezos is their usual target, demanding that the alleged world’s richest man pay his fair share. Herein lies the problem. No...
Why Environmentalism Has Failed – Freedom Philosophy
Pollution is a clear-cut violation of the non-aggression principle. Acid rain, plastic waste, greenhouse gases, runoff fertilizer, clearcutting that causes floods — all of these impact other people in a negative way. Herein lies the question: Can these issues be solved with more freedom, or less? Take greenhouse gases as an example. The left is adamant we pay a carbon taxes. In Canada, the proposal will reach up to $0.50/tonne of carbon emissions. This amounts to $0.12/liter of gas — roughly $0.04/gallon for our American friends. Carbon is what economists call an inelastic good (elastic...