I came across this 1792 quote from British agricultural writer Arthur Young while reading, still, “Locavore’s Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000 Mile Diet.” As with so much in this book, it is applicable to more than just agriculture and food.
I thought this quote was a great one sentence summary of what happens when property rights are protected.
Give a man the secure possession of a bleak rock and he will turn it into a garden; Give him a nine years’ lease of a garden and
In doing some research for my upcoming post about food inspired by my recent vacation, I have been reading “The Locavore’s Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000 Mile Diet” by Piere Desrochers and Hiroku Shimizu. It does a good job looking at the downside of the growing push for more local food and less big agribusiness.
From the perspective of individuals caught in the urban rat race, small-scale farming and the promise of a simpler life looks appealing. But the harsh reality is
Yet another quote from Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal,” also from Alan Greenspan’s essay “The Assault on Integrity,” I cannot help but think of Mayor Bloomberg and his various attempts at “protecting” consumers, whether it be from saturated fats, sugary drinks (some of them any way), or lack of exercise (by passing a law “encouraging” the use of stairs).
The hallmark of collectivists is their deep-rooted distrust of freedom
Here is another of the many quotes I accumulated while reading Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.” This particular quote is from Alan Greenspan’s essay “The Assualt on Integrity.” While this was originally written in 1963, it is still applicable today. Anytime you hear that the government is regulating companies in order to “protect consumers” you should think of this quote and then ask yourself if you are truly better off.
The attempt
On my return flight from vacation, I had time to read more in Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal,” and I was amazed how much of my Kindle copy I ended up highlighting in the chapters I read, so expect a fair number of quotes to come.
This first is from the essay “Notes on the History of American Free Enterprise” by Ayn Rand, and references something I see a lot of among my conspiracy theory loving friends on Facebook, especially in regards to oil companies and
In Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal” Alan Greenspan ends his essay on antitrust legislation with the following:
Whatever damages the antitrust laws may have done to our economy, whatever distortions of the structure of the nation’s capital markets they have created, these are less disastrous than the fact that the effective purpose, the hidden intent, and the actual practice of the antitrust laws in the United States have led to the condemnation of the productive
In the essay “Antitrust,” which is contained in Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal,” Alan Greenspan, long before he became chairman of the Federal Reserve, discussed the emergence of antitrust legislation at the end of the 19th century.
In the early 19th century, railroads developed in the East among stiff competition, between different railroads as well as with older forms of transportation. By the 1860’s a political movement developed demanding that
Another quote from Ayn Rand’s speech “Apollo and Dionysus” that I linked to on Monday. This one deals with, in short, Ayn Rand’s view on America’s role in fighting for freedom around the world. This seemed a particularly relevant given the current concern over intervening in various areas around the world.
One thing that was not covered in this brief answer that would be extremely important, is what exactly is “freedom.” As I pointed out in an earlier
In listening to the speech by Ayn Rand I linked on Monday, she was asked during the Q&A session about the government’s prohibition of drugs. While this deals specifically with drug use, it is applicable to any sort of consumption, or action for that matter, a man can choose. (Any errors in the transcription are mine.)
I do not approve of any government controls over consumption generally of every kind. I would advocate that all restrictions on drugs be removed. I don’t believe
Dr. Leonard Peikoff answered some great questions for this week’s podcast.