For the Next Doctor

Hat tip to Rad Geek for remembering this tragically appropriate accompaniment. It’s not Ani, but Lana De Angelis is more than capable. Take it home, Lana…

The Progress of Philosophy

Is the world ready for Corvus Distribution?

The world better get ready.

Capital as Power

No, this is not going to be a magnum opus about the evils of capitalism. It is instead an announcement of someone else’s magnum opus about the evils of capitalism (or so I gather).

Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler are releasing their new book, Capital as Power: A Study of Order and Creorder, discussing their alternative theory of capital, the power theory of value (in opposition to utility or labor theories). Taking their lead from the Institutional school of economics (the old one; think Veblen), they propose a theory of capital as the quantification of power measured by differential accumulation.

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

There is some very interesting discussion about hierarchy and authority, loaded words in many debates about anarchism, in this interview. I was particular struck by the concept of self-subverting authority. Check out Graeber’s book Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology which, as the title suggests, is a look at anarchism from an anthropological perspective.

Pulp Non-Fiction

I’m a big fan of Danny Shahar’s blog. It is one of my “regular reads” and part of the charm is that his posts are both interesting and epic (in length). Recently, he has posted a series of four (so far) epic posts on metaethics. I never pass up a discussion on metaethics but there is a great deal to cover and Danny is churning out new talking points faster then I can read it all.

However, I will be raising objections to Danny’s (and his friend Vichy’s) conception of metaethics primarily from the perspective of Roderick Long’s work on a praxeological foundation for ethics. While I do find Long’s metaethical theory compelling, my primary reason for selecting this pairing in the metaethical Battle Royale is that they seem matched as nearly perfect opposites. There is, to me at least, an almost eerie correspondance between Danny’s supporting points for moral fictionalism and the aspects of ethical thought that Long seeks to criticize. It seems like the perfect case to flex Long’s theory.

Leading By Example

I have thirty-eight brains and not one of them thinks you can sign a contract to be a slave, especially now that we have a black President.

These were the words of Eliza Dushku’s character Echo in “Omega”, the season one finale of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse.

Especially now? Does she mean that especially now that Barack Obama is POTUS, the argument against voluntary slavery is somehow more convincing? If so, I think I’ve been too hard on Obama. If he is capable, simply by assuming power, to make liberty more convincing, perhaps we shouldn’t protest too much. Give him a few more years and we might not have to convince anyone of the obviousness of anarchy.

[And, Joss, you just lost major geek points for throwing in an awkward "We [sic] Won [sic]“ shoutout to the Hollywood Messiah.]