The Curious Task

Alex speaks with Tony Gill about the curious practice of tipping and why despite all our groaning, it may just be a habit worth defending. Further Reading (some more of Tony Gill's writings on the subject): https://www.polisci.washington.edu/news/2019/03/18/tony-gill-tipping http://journal.apee.org/index.php/2018_Journal_of_Private_Enterprise_Vol_33_No_1_Spring_parte6   https://www.aier.org/articl...

Alex speaks with Kevin Vallier about his new book "All The Kingdoms Of The World", in which he takes a global view of anti-liberal integralist strands in political thought and warns of the consequences of following them toward a rejection of liberal freedom and democracy.  Episode Notes: The conversation focuses primarily on Kevin’s book: https://www.kevinvallier.com/books/all-the-kingdoms-of-the-...

Alex speaks with Stefanie Haeffele about her recent book Living Better Together, which explores the work of Elinor Ostrom and Viviana Zelizer.  Episode Notes: "Living Better Together" by Stefanie Haeffele and Virgil Henry Storr: https://a.co/d/hJNCxw6   Viviana Zelizer's homepage at Princeton: https://sociology.princeton.edu/people/viviana-zelizer   Elinor Ostrom's bio and short autobiography on t...

Alex speaks with Scott Scheall about Carl and Karl Menger and their influence on the history of economics, liberal theory, and - yes - mathematics.    Further Reading: "Karl Menger as Son of Carl Menger" - Scott Scheall & Reinhard Schumacher https://philarchive.org/rec/SCHKMA-4   Econlib Biography of elder Menger: https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Menger.html   1871. Principles of Econo...

Alex speaks with Jason Lee Byas about the complexities of responding to questions of historic injustice, reparations, and compensation within a libertarian framework.  Originally Aired as Episode 140 on Wednesday May 04, 2022  References 1. Articles by Jason Lee Byas, Center for a Stateless Society  Link: https://c4ss.org/content/author/jason-byas   2. “Rectification and Historic Injustice” by Jas...

Alex speaks with Nigel Ashford about the prospects for a freer world and how the memory of history, the hope of younger persons, and the teaching of ideas can shape the future of classical liberalism.    Further Reading: https://libertarianism.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/socin003.pdf Chapter 2 of this book: https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Blundell-interactive.pdf https://fee.org/ar...

Alex speaks with Jake Monaghan about ideal vs. ideal theory approaches to policing, the history and function of the police as an institution, and how to respond to police abolitionists.  Episode Notes Jake's book - the subject of the conversation - can be purchased here: https://a.co/d/ewVS0h9   References are made to G. A. Cohen's Why Not Socialism, which can be read here: https://www3.nd.edu/~pw...

Alex speaks with Trevour Burrus about his concept of the Statrix and why the solution to every problem should not be more government programs, intervention and restriction.  Episode Notes: Introductory YouTube video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eavx1ZVVyzM     Seeing the Statrix: Invisible and Omnipresent by Trevor Burrus:  https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/articles/burrus-cap-researc...

Alex speaks with Camden Hutchison about the nuances of freedom of expression laws in Canada and the United States, and the ways in which immature understandings of free speech can obfuscate the public discourse surrounding this fundamental right in North American law and politics.    Episode Notes   Freedom of Expression: Values and Harms - Camden Hutchison https://albertalawreview.com/index.php/A...

Alex speaks with Pete Boettke about the relevancy of Friedrich Hayek in the contemporary context, what it means to be a "Hayekian" and the curious tale of how Hayek came to be the focus of his latest book "F. A. Hayek: Economics, Political Economy and Social Philosophy" Episode Notes Pete’s book “F. A. Hayek: Economics, Political Economy and Social Philosophy“ https://a.co/d/ah7SpwW   Hayek on The...

Alex speaks with Darwynn Deyo about the many ways in which occupational licensing can in fact reduce efficiency in the workforce, make it harder for people to cross borders, and ultimately reduce economic mobility for already disadvantaged groups.    Episode Notes and Further Reading:   License To Work: A National Study of Burdens from Occupational Licensing (2022) https://ij.org/report/license-to...

Alex speaks with Fiona Harrigan about the state of immigration in the United States and elsewhere, and the ways in which "outsiders" make "insiders" better off - both instrumentally and categorically.  Episode Notes: The Government Is Turning Border Surveillance on Everyday Americans by Fiona Harrigan https://reason.com/2023/03/28/the-government-is-turning-border-surveillance-on-everyday-americans...

What's the harm in dreaming big? Significant, James Harrigan believes. Alex and James discuss the many ways in which Utopian theory has led to disaster in practice - From Plato to Lenin and into the present day.  Episode Notes: Keynes on Eugenics, Race, and Population Control https://mises.org/wire/keynes-eugenics-race-and-population-control   Phillip W. Magness, James R. Harrigan; John Maynard Ke...

Daniel Weinstock makes the case for lowering the voting age and extending the right to vote to teens who have much more in common with the general voting public than we may think. Episode Notes: Daniel Weinstock - “What’s So Funny about Voting Rights for Children?”, in Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy, vol. 18, no. 2 (2021), pp. 751 – 771. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/public-policy-jo...

Alex speaks with Professor Jacob Levy about the concept of neutrality within the history of liberalism and how many historical thinkers have approached the subject within that tradition.  Episode Notes: Michael Oakeshott on “adverbial rules” https://lawliberty.org/forum/michael-oakeshott-on-the-rule-of-law-and-the-liberal-order/   John Locke’s religious beliefs https://rb.gy/1yg43   Heresy of Amer...

Alex speaks with Aurelian Craiutu about the importance of moderation when it comes to virtue, political discourse, and the balancing of extremes in a world full of radicals.    Episode Notes:    Aurelian Craiutu - Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals https://a.co/d/1LVcadG Aurelian Craiutu - Faces of Moderation: The Art of Balance in an Age of Extremes  https://a.co/d/6cVwv5F   Thomas Osb...

Alex speaks with Jason Kuznicki about the societal tendency towards stagnation - and away from liberalism - and its roots in some of the earliest human civilizations.  References 1. “Technology and the End of Authority: What Is Government For?” by Jason Kuznicki Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Technology-End-Authority-What-Government/dp/3319486918   2. Jason’s previous episode “What Is Government For?...

Alex speaks with Monica Guzman about the need for curiosity as a remedy for the increasing polarization in American discourse and her recent book on the subject "I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times" Monica's book: https://a.co/d/j6xKME7  

Alex and Nolan discuss a novel solution to many of the difficult issues surrounding housing in North America: the elimination of zoning laws. Further Reading and References: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/zoning-housing-affordability-nimby-parking-houston/661289/ https://reason.com/2022/06/21/abolish-zoning-all-of-it/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-04/how-housto...

Alex and Mike Munger discuss two strains of thought within the liberty movement - one concerned with philosophical purity and cohesion, the other with advancement towards a common ideal of greater freedom for all.  Episode Notes: Mike's article "The Right Kind of Nothing": https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-right-kind-of-nothing/ An introduction to Coasian bargaining: http://www.ejolt.org/2015/...

Alex and Dennis discuss the very colorful character who, unbeknownst to many, wrote the American Constitution.  Episode Notes: Dennis' book "The Constitution's Penman" https://a.co/d/iKnulei   The American Constitution https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript The Federalist Papers https://www.congress.gov/resources/display/content/The+Federalist+Papers Roosevelt's biography o...

Alex and Sabine speak about the state of classical liberalism in terms of individual rights and economic freedom in Canada today. Works referenced: Hayek's "Why I Am Not A Conservative": https://press.uchicago.edu/books/excerpt/2011/hayek_constitution.html    

Alex speaks with Noah Schwartz about gun control in Canada and how recent attempts to review firearms policy have failed to address root issues and the causes of violence and crime. References 1. “On Target: Gun Culture, Storytelling, and the NRA” by Noah Schwartz Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Target-Gun-Culture-Storytelling-NRA/dp/1487548443/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=   2....

Alex speaks with Liya Palagashvili about the state - and the meaning - of the gig economy and how history can show the not-so-novel nature of modern labour. References 1. Liya’s articles, The Mercatus Center Link: https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/liya-palagashvili?utm_source=ad_link&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=scholar_branding&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgJa6BhCOARIsAMiL7V_UHKSW...

Alex speaks with Jay Goldberg about Canada's Bill C-11 and the implications of the government's attempt to change what Canadians see on the internet. References 1. “Bill C-11: An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts” by the Government of Canada Link: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/charter-charte/c11_2.html   2. Canadian Radio-te...