Mudita Journal

Intellectual Archive

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FLOW: Markets in happiness and well-being

July 7, 2008  ·  Category: FLOW, Intellectual, Politics

I've been greatly enjoying my monthly newsletters from FLOW, because these guys are genuinely committed to exploring the reconciliation between liberal values (of personal development, generosity, community, and peace) and free markets. Below is their latest, from CEO Michael Strong. Other than perhaps his analysis of Mac vs. PC ;-) I find this to be a very stimulating and incisive discussion of the relevant topics. Dear FLOW Members, One of our most powerful instincts is that those who contribute the most to a community should be rewarded the most. From this perspective, it has always been a source of great consternation ...

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Profits are like happiness: If you aim for it directly, you’re more likely to miss

June 29, 2008  ·  Category: FLOW, Intellectual, Objectivism

I've become very intrigued lately by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's concept of "conscious capitalism" (link to PDF essay). A few days ago, Justin Fox from Time Magazine published a lengthy interview with Mackey and his college housemate Kip Tindell -- who, as it happens, is the CEO of the Container Store, which is similarly prosperous and also run by a very similar business philosophy. Year after year, Fortune magazine consistently rates their two companies as among the best companies in the world for which to work. Here's a good quote from Mackey, from the Time interview, that sort of sums up Mackey's ...

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The Socratic method in education

June 18, 2008  ·  Category: Atlasphere, Individualism, Intellectual

I enjoyed this interview with Michael Strong on Socratic Practice in education. The interviewer, by the way, is from the same Francisco Marroquin University that we noted recently at the Atlasphere, for their pro-freedom political views.

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Hauser’s Law: Why You Can’t Soak the Rich

June 17, 2008  ·  Category: Intellectual, Politics

Over the past 60 years, no matter how much federal tax RATES have been raised or lowered, tax REVENUES have remained at about 19% of GDP: The chart nearby, updating the evidence to 2007, confirms Hauser's Law. The federal tax "yield" (revenues divided by GDP) has remained close to 19.5%, even as the top tax bracket was brought down from 91% to the present 35%. This is what scientists call an "independence theorem," and it cuts the Gordian Knot of tax policy debate. The data show that the tax yield has been independent of marginal tax rates over this period, but tax ...

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No recession? We can still kvetch!

June 4, 2008  ·  Category: Humor, Intellectual, Politics

Will Wilkinson -- whom some of you may know by virtue of his attendance at some Objectivist seminars in the 1990s -- has some clever commentary over at American Public Radio: Keep complaining about the economy. What I want to know is, how do they manage to make everyone on public radio sound so unfailingly BOOKISH? You know the sound I'm talking about. Do they make them drink a special concoction before they start rolling the tapes, or...? (h/t Farsam)

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When we no longer need our illusions

May 25, 2008  ·  Category: Individualism, Intellectual, Personal

I had a dream recently where I went down a rabbit hole and found a people true to themselves. I wrote down the dream, and one day may share it here. In the interim, here's one passage that particularly intrigued me: The community itself was a conscious exercise in trueness. When someone stole, for example, no one got upset, least of all the person who had been stolen from. When the thief had what he needed, the experience of being a thief, he would return whatever had been stolen because he no longer needed it. And no ...

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A soldier’s perspective on why they’re in Iraq

May 25, 2008  ·  Category: Current Events, Intellectual, Politics

This is a guest post by a friend of mine named "Ron," presently stationed in Baghdad, Iraq. I’ve enjoyed reading this thread (“On appreciating military service, even in Iraq”) as it has developed and before I comment I want to say that I consider Joe Duarte and Josh Zader both to be friends. I have a great deal of respect for the intellect and devotion to Liberty of both men. I also want to thank Josh for providing a forum where rational people can have discussions like these and share ideas. I am currently in the 55th Week of my ...

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Who is John Yoo?

May 21, 2008  ·  Category: Current Events, Intellectual, Politics

In the article "Is John Yoo a Monster?" Esquire magazine provides a lovely, intimate look at the man who played the single biggest role in shaping the Bush administration's policies on torture. One thing I like about the article is that I would use the words "lovely, intimate look" and "policies on torture" in the same sentence while describing it. Such beautiful extremes, there -- the kind of paradox that might smash preconceptions, forcing us to arrive at fresh conclusions. Some background about the guy: At Steve’s Korean B.B.Q., Yoo talks about his parents. They were teenagers during the Korean War, a ...

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On appreciating military service, even in Iraq

May 8, 2008  ·  Category: Integral, Intellectual, Politics

In response to Joe Duarte's rant against serving in Iraq in order to promote American freedom -- "The idea that Iraq was ever a threat to Americans' freedoms is both hilarious and revolting..." -- I posted the following. I don't recall anyone arguing that Iraq was a threat, but [see correction below] I certainly remember some extremely articulate arguments to the effect that installing democracy in Iraq could, over the long-term, have a significant effect on reducing the growth of terrorism. Not because Iraq itself was ever a hotbed of terrorism, but because installing democracy in a major country in ...

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Best Buy leading the world in workday flexibility

May 4, 2008  ·  Category: Current Events, Individualism, Intellectual

I am fascinated by what Best Buy has done: [W]hen Hance participates in a morning teleconference with his co-workers or in-house clients, he sometimes is calling in via cell phone from his fishing boat on a lake or from the woods where he's spent the hours since dawn stalking wild turkeys. "No one at Best Buy really knows where I am," he explains. "Nor do they really care." Gone are the days when Hance needed to spend morning until night seated in a cubicle surrounded by papers and charts he'd carefully arranged to ensure that co-workers and bosses who peeked in would ...

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