Comments on: Man: Good or Evil? (Show 088)

By: True objectivist

True objectivist — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:07:46 +0000

You mention that you were leaning toward voting for Obama because Palin is anti-abortion. I am an atheist and pro-life because I believe government’s only role is to protect the rights (life, liberty, property) of individuals. That’s true whether it’s the rights of 90yr old parent who has become a burden to her 60 yr old children or an unborn infant who has become a burden for her 25 yr old mother.

Given the speed at which Obama is moving us toward socialism, I bet you wish you voted for the religious lesser of two evils

By: Dan english hats

Dan english hats — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:46:39 +0000

I donâ€™t think that man is born as evil as good, I truly think that each person can become either of those depending on several factors. In some cases you can blame society for the outcome, but this rarely happens. In the end, it is all about luck and somewhat faith. And yes, capitalism in theory is much different that capitalism in practice.

By: Burgess Laughlin

Burgess Laughlin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:22:17 +0000

“. . . a common argument against capitalism . . . states that the capitalist assumes a mistaken view of human nature, namely, that given freedom, he will act morally.”

In the particular form that I often hear such an argument, the argument is (intentionally or not) a straw man argument, at least when directed at me.

I am an advocate of capitalism. I do not assume that everyone in a free–that is, capitalist–society will act morally. I assume some won’t act morally. That is why capitalism means a political system, a government, that has one purpose and one purpose only: to protect the rights of individuals in that society to their life, liberty, and property. Crimes of violence and (more applicable to economics) fraud–both of which are acts of immorality against the rights of others–should be punishable.