The Mindcrime Liberty Show with Dobson and Patton

Ep 92: What is the purpose of sex?

The Mindcrime Liberty Show discusses what is the purpose of sex, especially in developed societies with effective birth control? The “natural” answer, whether one is dealing with animals or humans, is to create offspring which is no longer the answer since the invention of birth control. With its rise, things have changed significantly, with pleasure and peer bonding added into the mix of reasons to do it; they have arguably become the central reason. For much of human history there wasn’t really any cheap, reliable, available and effective birth control. If healthy fertile people did the act then children would result. As Walter Block’s opponent argued, this is what is “supposed” to happen if everything is working. The invention of effective inhibiting measures has arguably changed society even more than steam engines. Everyone in a sense family plans, which has led to the drop of birth rates almost everywhere. The post-Soviet states and East Asia are in demographic collapse. Even Iran has declined and arguably the Third World will follow. Abortion and the rise of people having no children are commonly brought up but what tends to be forgotten is the pro-natal people are having fewer children.

 

If one goes back three generations, most westerners can find people with ten plus children. In the past high birth rates did coincide with high infant mortality rates but the number of live children is quite historically low all things considered. Is this entirely due to family planning? What are the other reasons if any? If sex isn’t mainly for child production then what are the consequences for the family and society? Is the left-wing Anglican Giles Fraser right to support same-sex marriage for the purposes of peer bonding? Is the infamous Mr Spencer right that abortion is mainly birth control for certain classes of people? Is the campus “rape culture” and “date rape” an extension of the divorcing of sex from reproduction?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ep 91: Is Arranged marriage defensible?

The Mindcrime Liberty Show discusses whether arranged marriage is defensible. The divorce rate in the UK is 33% and 50% in the USA so alternative marriage arrangements need to be considered. Is an approved list of marriage candidates preferable to parental veto or typical American dating? Are the lower divorce rates with arranged marriage good evidence for its desirability? Is arranged marriage possibly in modern western with high levels of geographical mobility? In that case, what is the best way to encourage good spousal choice? Would treating marriage more like a standard financial investment help?

Ep 90: Why aren’t there more women in prison? W/Todd Lewis.

The Mindcrime Liberty Show is joined by Todd Lewis of the Praise of Folly podcast to discuss, why aren’t there more women in prison? If opening up male dominated spaces and closing the gender gap is so important for politicians, government bureaucracies, megacorporations, universities, many churches and activists, then why do they not try to go after the disparity in this male dominated institution: prisons. In England and Wales 95% of the prison population is male. In the US Federal prison system 93% of the population is male as well. A large gender gap also exists in school detentions and punishments as well. Why is this so high? Why do all the egalitarians and male dominated space critics not care? Is society much harsher on men and boys? Do men commit more crime? Do men get longer sentences? Will this disparity continue to get worse? Is this disparity all "capitalism's" (not Murray Rothbard's definition) or better known as neoliberalism/crony capitalism fault? Should the Marxist Left take seriously the claims of Men's rights activists? At their height, were historical Marxism and the historic labor movement at their height mainly a male thing? What could change this disparity?

Ep 89: How much would an ideal society spend on healthcare?

The Mindcrime Liberty Show discusses what is the marginal value of healthcare compared to other goods (say a nice dinner or a house)? If an ideal society existed where there was no IP, parasitic middleman, regulations and etc what would people spend on healthcare? How much is a life worth and how much is life extension worth given that scarcity exists? How much is perfect safety worth? Is Hans Hoppe right about the absurdity of modern “insurance”? Can healthcare be provided by the free market? What is to be made of alternative, or off label use of medicine? Why do progressives and at times so called classical liberals/conservatives think that medicine only consists of what state licensed doctors do? 

EP 88: What is GDP growth and why should anyone care?

The Mindcrime Liberty Show discusses GDP and the problems surrounding its calculations and use. Is GDP useful? Is much of GDP growth illusory especially that which is created by finance and central banks? Is the wealth of nations impossible to calculate and compare? Is calculating the wealth of nations harmful and only done for malevolent reasons? Would private product remaining be a more useful statistic to calculate? What are the problems associated with this? What would be a better way to calculate the "wealth of nations"?

Ep 87: Is Vladimir Putin right? #justwartheory #reparations

The Mindcrime Liberty Show discusses whether Vladimir Putin is right? Is this a legitimate case of re-acquiring land as a kind of military invasion version of reparations? Is this a just war? What exactly is a modern “just” war and does anyone care to apply the standards consistently? Who exactly owns a piece of land and how do individuals, groups and/or state acquire it “justly”? What exactly is the process of just land acquisition other than naked state military force and has it ever occurred justly? Does anyone or any state have a pure clean title to land, especially the land within Ukraine? What are some similar versions of disputed lands throughout the world both currently and historically?

 

Ep. 86: Should public intellectuals be more like Ric Flair?

The Mindcrime Liberty Show is joined by Terminal Philosophy to discuss whether Public intellectuals should be more like Ric Flair. Flair in a way invented professional wrestling, in particular the part that makes it fun: the flamboyant gregarious trash talking promos. Should public intellectuals adopt this posture at times especially when they are right or think they will be right? Would this make learning and politics more “ fun” and make it easier to pay attention? In our previous discussion with Terminal Philosophy we discussed how both Alex Jones and Graham Hancock are public figures who are extremely entertaining compared to the aging dinosaur establishments they are up against. The big danger is that sophists will of course use this tactic to their full advantage but it is not clear that established institutions can be capable of engaging in this behavior over the long term with any authenticity. Are intellectuals headed this way anyway? Ought intellectuals act this way?

Ep 85: Does grammar exist? w/Rik Storey.

The Mindcrime Liberty Show discusses whether grammar exists with Rik Storey. What are the rules of grammar and where do they come from? Is grammar merely a useful social construction? Is there such a thing as universal grammar and is Chomksy right? Does grammar’s existence imply a kind of divine order? Is there such thing as “correct” grammar or does it evolve over time and in different places? How does one improve on grammar if it is indeed so subjective? Is grammar authoritarian or libertarian?

Ep 84: What does a community devoted to Free Speech look like? Feat. Right Ruminations

The Mindcrime Liberty Show is joined by Right Ruminations to discuss what a community devoted to free speech would look like. Is free speech in decline and if so when did it reach its zenith? Why is free speech valuable? What is the relationship between free speech and excellence? How would a free speech society deal with heretics? What place would the university have in a free society? Would they encourage public debates with the heretical views? How should employers view speech of employees outside of work? Does freedom of speech conflict with freedom of association?

Ep 83: Are rent and interest slavery?

The Mindcrime Liberty Show discusses whether interest and rent are a form of soft slavery? Robert Nozick in Anarchy, State and Utopia assumes no one defends slavery and the Marxists view capitalism as just an updated form of serfdom defined by exploitation. Two of the key aspects of capitalism are interest on capital and rents collected on property. Are landlords and rent collectors the beneficiaries of a form of exploitative soft slavery? Are those persons who collect gains on capital indirectly benefiting from a form of exploitative toil? For the economic left, what would be the attributes of a system which isn’t defined by exploitation? Is this the contents of an empty box? What are the benefits of interest and rent? Why would anyone save and grow the amount of capital goods in a society if there wasn’t a benefit to deferred gratification?