I've long been hoping to come across an informed analysis of the Affordable Care Act (I don't call it Obamacare because if Molyneux' data are correct then AFFORDABLE Care Act is too deliciously ironic not to use as often as possible) that wasn't shrieking left- or right-wing hysteria, and lo and behold...
I found Stefan Molyneux while reading up on something else, I forget what, and it's taken me too long to get around to listening to the rest of his stuff.
Here's the Affordable Care Act bit:
To my great surprise, the bill is shit.
Newly added parts of it are also allegedly illegal.
For the antinatalists: it of course incentivizes popping 'em out, and forces everyone else to subsidize womb diarrhea.
But it turns out the Affordable Care Act is so brutal in its complexity (another reason not to call it Obamacare: one guy does not have enough hours in a lifetime to screw something up this exhaustively) there's something in there to piss everyone off. Except possibly the womb diarrhea-ists, who will try to find something to be angry about anyway.
Have a listen. Molyneux is great, if you can handle the shame of realizing how much you DON'T know about basically everything on the planet.
I found Stefan Molyneux while reading up on something else, I forget what, and it's taken me too long to get around to listening to the rest of his stuff.
Here's the Affordable Care Act bit:
To my great surprise, the bill is shit.
Newly added parts of it are also allegedly illegal.
For the antinatalists: it of course incentivizes popping 'em out, and forces everyone else to subsidize womb diarrhea.
But it turns out the Affordable Care Act is so brutal in its complexity (another reason not to call it Obamacare: one guy does not have enough hours in a lifetime to screw something up this exhaustively) there's something in there to piss everyone off. Except possibly the womb diarrhea-ists, who will try to find something to be angry about anyway.
Have a listen. Molyneux is great, if you can handle the shame of realizing how much you DON'T know about basically everything on the planet.
I enjoy listening to Molyneux too. His podcasts can be pretty interesting and have sometimes put things in a different perspective for me. However, I vaguely remember him addressing anti-natalism on one of his shows and, from what I remember of it, he seemed to create a strawman of the AN argument. Also, Molyneux is too much of an optimist, in his own way, to embrace such an idea.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I became familiar with you via your interview with Forney.
Re: Forney: Cool! That was a fun interview to do.
DeleteRe: Molyneux: I haven't heard his AN straw man, but that's slightly disappointing... you would think his nonviolent arguments would extend to the ultimate harm. Nonetheless, I think I'll continue to enjoy him as an optimist who is NOT a dithering ball of delusions... kind of a breath of fresh air for me. And indeed, there are plenty of ways in which he gives me a new perspective, even if I think he's wrong there. Can't agree with EVERYthing somebody says... Anyway, hello!
You make a good point regarding Molyneux's philosophy regarding harm and the AN position. I wish I could find the particular video where he addresses AN but he's got too many uploaded to find that needle in a haystack. He's also got a daughter and I don't see him becoming a Jim Crawford anytime soon. He is worth listening to though whether you agree with him entirely or not.
ReplyDeleteI found yours and Matt Forney's corner of the Internet after several years of increasing disillusionment with the atheist/skeptic "movement". I watched as this so called movement was hijacked by the usual people: tiresome PC thought police and obnoxious feminists who wanted to make it all about them and their vaginas.
It's nice to take in the fresh air around here too.
Oh, one thing I wanted to mention and forgot...lol...I had my first taste of legal marijuana here in WA last night! I tried to get the brand that Carl Sagan smoked but they didn't know what I was talking about.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteIf you're tired of the atheist/skeptic movement there's a classic essay by Karl here you may find fun to read (it's about smug atheists): http://saynotolife.blogspot.com/2012/04/happy-atheists.html
I hope you enjoyed your pot! Unfortunately I get too paranoid to benefit from that stuff. Not paranoid like "they're after me," paranoid like "I can hear my heartbeat, that means it's going to stop someday, oh my stars and garters I believe I am having a heart attack right this moment arrrrrrrrgh!"
Delete(Feminists in atheism, eh? Right, because the eternally tiresome war between the sexes is completely germane to the subject. Bah.)
Delete