Some Links

On Sweet Talk Conversation, I write a dialogue about how people use the word "we" these days.

David Henderson highlights the way presidential language is changing in recent years.

There has been a series of "let's troll the libertarian base" articles/blog posts written recently, so let me offer you a quick primer:

1. Will Wilkinson writes an article in support of renowned socialist Bernie Sanders for president.
2. Wilkinson's colleague Jerry Taylor throws up his hands and laments that libertarians just don't get it - we should embrace Rawls along with the welfare state.
3. Bryan Caplan clarifies that, no, libertarians should not embrace social welfare for philosophical reasons because the economics is pretty clear.
4. Matt Zwolinski, famous for promoting a specific kind of welfare program, publishes a journal article and blog post suggesting that, gee whiz, people like Caplan just have a big academic misunderstanding of pro-welfare libertarianism.
5. David Henderson points to a serious flaw in at least one of Taylor's arguments.
6. Paul Crider, still heavily immersed in the world of identity politics, draws parallels between Wilkinson and Amartya Sen (probably a bit too generous to Wilkinson)

That ought to bring you up to speed with the most recent goings-on in the world of the libertarian ouroboros. If you had asked me a year ago whether I'd find myself drawing nearer to the Rothbardian libertarian camp, I would have told you you're nuts. But deploying bad philosophical arguments against good economic ones is pretty off-putting.

A Fort Worth police officer stands on the side of the road and pepper-sprays a group of passing motorists, then receives desk duty pending a full investigation.