Isn't it ironic that libertarians by and large don't believe in liberty?
Not really ironic. Just symptomatic of their stupidity.
What does that say about me, then, if I can't use "irony" properly?
Well, I'm not sure, but it's ironic.
David Penner
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16 comments:
Rif rif rif. Good work, D.
Libertarians are against liberty only if you equivocate. Really, its just a language game of sorts.
K
Libertarians rely a little too much on a negative conception of liberty. Which is a mistake. I am not free to fly to outerspace just because no one explicitly barres me. Point being that libertarians do believe in liberty - only a wonky version of it.
P.S. I hate libertarians too. :D
I don't know about that. One thing I've noticed is that lots of American "libertarians" are curiously eager to defend Bush's War on Terror policies, such as the elimination of habeas corpus, torture, and the domestic spying program. In practice, it seems like they defend liberty... but only for themselves, and only after they feel sufficiently secure. Glenn Reynolds and almost everyone at the Volokh Conspiracy are prominent examples. These people are eager to defend liberty when it doesn't cost them anything. The values people hold are tested and confirmed when those values matter, not when they don't. So it's hard to take their commitment to liberty seriously if they're not willing to defend it when it needs defending.
Anyway, this defense of our conversation is a bit involved. I thought it was sort of amusing is all.
We need more words. Like negative liberty can be norestricticus, and positive liberty can be libberport. And, transcendental freedom can be minigodom. And whatever G. W. Bush is would be toturebrownpeople-iberty.
Yeah. My only worry is that there's a tension between the need for precision and the pragmatic need to keep things simple and accessible so that as many people as possible can join the conversation.
Actually, as far as I can tell, "positive liberty" looks a lot like "autonomy" in the philosophy literature. But, then, there are two senses of autonomy, too (the technical concept from Kant and the more colloquial usage, used to mean something like "self-directed").
And I guess I should state that, obviously, I disapprove of torturing brown people. Torture, like abortion and miniature American flags, should be widely available to everyone, not just brown people.
Lol, good work D.
Oh, so we're talking about current living and breathing libertarians. Not philosophical libertarians.
Yeah. That was the context missing from my transcription of the conversation. Hayek's fine by me ;)
By the way, Daniel, I'd be curious to hear your assessment of Paul McCartney's new album, if you've had a chance to hear it.
I got a hold of all the songs, but I've only really heard the single "Dance tonight". It's a fine little pop song, I guess. I've sort of lost hope in McCartney. His last album, Chaos in Creation, was his best in decades, but even it was a little derivative. He's lost that facility for the novel.
Ah, that's my impression too, though I've not heard the whole thing. Those Band on the Run days seem to be over.
Those days died in the late-70s. There have only been a handful of great, non-derivative, songs since. Someone like Paul McCartney is almost incapable of not making tuneful, catchy, songs that are genuinely great. But the good ones of the last 20 years are generally rip-offs of tracks from his Beatles and early solo career.
There may be something of interest in his classical albums. I'll have to check them out one of these days.
Regarding Paul's Memory Almost Full...
It seems to me that Paul McCartney is often unfairly maligned by people who either dislike him altogether or those who hold everything new that he does to some kind of unreachable gold standard from the 1960s and 1970s. IMO, Memory Almost Full continues to display McCartney's melodic genius, though perhaps his flashes of brilliance are a bit more fleeting these days.
Compared to his heyday, Paul's voice has lost some of its power and tonality, especially noticeable in the loss of his upper register (where he used to sing songs like "Maybe I'm Amazed"). Most of his new material tends to be focused on his middle and lower registers. Makes me wonder if he might be able to get it back if he saw a vocal coach….
As to the songs on the album, my impression is that McCartney has never been that consistent with his output – and this album is no different. I think the bridge from "See Your Sunshine" is pure McCartney pop mastery. After the classical strings in the introduction, "Only Mama Knows" is a classic McCartney rocker that brings back memories of Wings’ "Rockshow" era. "Mister Bellamy" is about another of McCartney's odd fictional characters with a peculiar instrumental arrangement, somewhat reminiscent of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". As for derivative, the song “Vintage Clothes” sounds the most reminiscent of the past stylistically, but then that’s what the song is all about. I’m not particularly attentive to lyrics, so I don’t have much to say about the quality there. The dark brooding epic "House of Wax" is memorable for it’s somber mood and rising, powerful chorus. Then there’s “End of the End” which sees Paul reflecting on how he wants to be remembered (part of the final medley which ends the album). Lots of great bass all over too….
I think that people who harshly criticize might be looking through the rose colored glasses of the past where McCartney could never do any wrong. IMO, that’s an unfair characterization of the past, because Paul was never consistently great, even in his heyday. As long as his continues to put out a few gems in the rough, I’ll continue to listen.
Overall, I’m glad that Paul continues to put out new music….
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kevin
http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab752
(my own home page.... imagine that!)
Yeah, me too. But I'm not very good at playing the effete elitist about this sort of thing, so I'm inclined to welcome more music. I look forward to the inevitable boxset of Paul McCartney's post-Beatles material.
Don't mistake my words of criticism for a disliking of McCartney's current work. That's just my way of balancing my consistent and effusive praise for Paul (he is, in fact, my favourite songwriter - not despite, but because of his more recent music). I also welcome whatever he puts out, because it's still damn good.
P.S. I actually am an effete elitist. I'm also a regular elitist.
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