In conjunction with his 205th, I re-post this picture of me and a diminutive Karl Marx, taken in his hometown of Trier, Germany, in 2018 on the 200th anniversary of his birth. Red was an appropriate color for this tribute sculpture given the amount of blood spilled applying his ideas. Related: Marx’s philosophy and its […]
1. A short follow-up on moral equivalencing. Yesterday I posted this about the killing fields in Cambodia under Marxist communism. Immediately I got huffy responses like “But what about Pinochet in Chile?!” And “Don’t forget the US also supported right-wing dictator Pinochet.” 2. Pinochet was a bad guy. No question. Yet numbers and context matter.
Pol Pot’s Cambodia and Pinochet’s Chile: (Im)Morally Equivalent? Read More »
[Humor alert: When I last taught Contemporary European Philosophy, I offered this alternative final exam.] Contemptible European Philosophy Dr. ShicksAlternative (Reality) Exam 1. Identify the correct choice. Jean-Paul Sartre was a(n):a) Existentialist.b) Essentialist.c) Excellent way to put yourself to sleep.d) Guy who knew how to have his way with the ladies. 2. “Why does the
Contemptible European Philosophy — exam questions Read More »
My article on the deep controversies over Kant, “Kant at the Masked Ball,” is now out in the academic journal Reason Papers. Thanks to editor Carrie-Ann Biondi, Ph.D., for her intelligent and efficient production of the issue. Here’s my opening: “1. Which of the Two Kants?We should grapple with the fact that two opposing traditions
“Kant at the Masked Ball” — article published Read More »
Reprising this post from when I enjoyed George Selgin’s Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage, 1775-1821 (University of Michigan Press, 2008). Come the Industrial Revolution, the number of wage earners rose dramatically, increasing dramatically the need for small denomination coins to pay them and for them to
Private coins and the Industrial Revolution Read More »
Judge for oneself. Here is the mature Karl Marx writing, eight years after publishing The Communist Manifesto, for the New-York Daily Tribune: Thus we find every tyrant backed by a Jew, as is every pope by a Jesuit. In truth, the cravings of oppressors would be hopeless, and the practicability of war out of the
Was Marx really that anti-Semitic? Read More »
Revisiting this deeply personal question: Do I have what it takes to be a philosopher-king? Maybe not, according to Plato’s Republic Book 6 description of the true philosopher’s character. A real philosopher, he says: 1. Will love the pursuit of truth [485b],2. Will be indifferent to the pleasures of the body [485d],3. Will not be
Could I be a philosopher-king? Read More »
I’ll be traveling to speak at these in-person events over the next month or so: Belgrade, Serbia, April 11, 2023, Lecture: “Love and Hate in Uncertain Times.” Debate: “Is Objectivism an Open or Closed Philosophy?” Ayn Rand Center Europe. Warsaw, Poland, April 14, 2023. “Clash with Totalitarianisms, 1939-1945.” Institute of National Remembrance. Stockholm, Sweden, May 9-12, 2023, various
Speaking schedule: Serbia, Poland, Sweden, Norway (April-May 2023) Read More »