America’s culture and race conflicts have been horribly united by Slate‘s Aisha Harris and FOX’s Megyn Kelly over whether Santa Claus ought to be white (Kelly’s view) or a penguin (Harris’). The result is a grotesque mutant argument encompassing everything unpleasant about both disputes. When will the war on Christmas and racism come together so perfectly again? It’s a current events version of a rare comet. It’s not every day we have the opportunity to analyze a debate so morbid as this, so let’s get started.
How Obamacare is Great for Entrepreneurship
I have a right-wing argument for Obamacare (which makes sense, because the broad outline of Obamacare, née Romneycare, was originally conceived of by republicans in the early 90’s). I’d like to share it.
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One Value to Rule them All
Today I’d like to talk a little bit about value monism–the philosophical idea that all of our moral beliefs ought to be reducible to a single guiding principle or value. There is a tendency, in some circles, to see value monism as inherently dogmatic or unreasonable, to prefer value pluralism, the idea that there are multiple independent moral values. I’d like to counter that argument and illustrate some of the ways value monism advantages us by clarifying our thinking and simplifying the moral landscape.
Blog News
As is my custom, I like to keep readers abreast of any reason that arises that slows my usual writing pace. At the moment, the issue is a group of three papers I have to get written before the end of the quarter at the University of Chicago. Combined, it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 12,000 words of writing. At present, one of the three is done, the others are partway complete. I expect to do some blogging beginning on Monday, with the regular rate of postage resuming sometime in the next week or two. Once I finish these papers, I will be on break through the beginning of January, and will likely post more than usual. I hope the reader will be kind enough to be patient with me while I get this work out of the way.
Do We Treat College Students like Indentured Servants?
I recently heard someone compare the modern student experience in the United States to indentured service. This comparison seems hyperbolic on first analysis, but I want to take it seriously. To what extent, if any, is the process of taking out student loans or working unpaid internships similar to the experience of poor 18th century opportunity-seekers in the United States?
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Benjamin Studebaker 