Thought

Robert Nozick

The socialist society would have to forbid capitalist acts between consenting adults.
Philosopher Robert Nozick explaining why freedom cannot be maintained in a statist society, Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974).

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Sketchiest Etching
State legislators placed Proposal 1 on the Michigan ballot to weaken …
Rights and Democracy
SharingDemocracy and constitutional rights fit together better than some people think. …
Two Initiatives, With Initiative
SharingJosh Sutinen is 17. He can’t vote yet. But that …
Oregon’s $10,000 Innocent-Bystander Fine
SharingIn Oregon, it is now a crime to be both an …
The Willamantic Refuseniks
SharingThirty-five years ago, the people of Willimantic, Connecticut, confirmed my …

Measures for Measures
November 23, 2024
This year was an interesting one for initiatives.Read More »
Denial Is a River in Argentina?
November 22, 2024
Paul Jacob on one country’s retreat from self-imposed poverty.Read More »
Watch Out!
November 21, 2024
Paul Jacob on strange edits in the Lone Star State.Read More »
The Hill as Hallucinogen
November 19, 2024
Paul Jacob on a false news story, gone but not …Read More »
Elon & Vivek to Cut Government?
November 18, 2024
Paul Jacob on who could help whom do what is …Read More »

Minnesota Common Sense
SharingMinnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is a stepping down after two terms. At …
The Reign of Trickery
SharingArkansas State Sen. Jon Woods’s reign of trickery is ending. …
The Junk Bond State
SharingWhat a pleasure — comparing notes with Nick Tomboulides, executive director of U.S. …
He Tries Harder
SharingHe’s the Avis Rent A Car of authoritarianism. Russian President Vladimir V. …
Nebraska Initiative: Open or Closed?
SharingIn 2008, State Senator DiAnna Schimek’s 20-year legislative career came …

After Them, the Deluge
SharingOne might be forgiven for finding Sen. Kamala Harris the …
Congress’s King
SharingPolitics today reveals a troubling dialectic. Thesis: President Trump boasts that …
Is Denmark Socialist?
SharingFirst… some definitions: Socialism advocates the public ownership (or control) of business …
The Incumbency vs. Progressives
Sharing“The Democratic Party leadership is choosing machine politics,” charged Alexandra …
Extremist Against Charity
SharingVermont’s favorite son, Senator Bernie Sanders, has a long history of …

On November 23, 1644, British poet John Milton published Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship.

Revolutions of ages do not oft recover the loss of a rejected truth, for the want of which whole nations fare the worse.
John Milton, Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England (1644).

The name “Areopagitica” references a speech by Isocrates, the “Areopagitikós” that itself referenced a hill in Athens, Greece, the Areopagus, which had been the site of an important tribunal that the Greek orator had hoped to restore. It may also refer to the defense that St. Paul made before the Areopagus against charges of promulgating alien gods and outré teachings (see Acts 17:18 – 34).