Blog – Page 5 – Gus diZerega

When is a book review not a book review? A more than frustrating review of “Faultlines”

Posted on August 22, 2014August 22, 2014 by Gus

There are reviews that grapple with what a book argues, and those that do not. I was disappointed that Patheos’ review of my book was the latter. Nikki Whiting admits after reading it she did not know for sure what … Read more

Libertarian critique II: Property rights

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Gus

If anything sets libertarianism as an ideology off from other more reasonable points of view, along with the ‘nonaggression principle’ it is their doctrine of property rights. As with nonaggression, they take a principle nearly all agree on, and then … Read more

Libertarian Critique I: The ‘nonaggression principle’

Posted on July 27, 2014July 27, 2014 by Gus

This is the first of what will be a series of posts criticizing libertarian ideology as not up to the claims its advocates claim for it. Perhaps some will even seek to enter into dialogue on this or other issues … Read more

Antibiotics and the Market: One more example of the bankruptcy of libertarian ideology

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Gus

Libertarians and ‘free market’ advocates in general claim that markets reflect people’s decisions and values better than any other social institution, and so ‘freedom’ is maximized when markets are ‘unfettered.’ The New Scientist for May 24 has an important example … Read more

Taking the Initiative towards electoral reform: a vital role for Maine?

Posted on April 21, 2014July 20, 2014 by Gus

The American political system has become dysfunctional with no hope at the moment for an end to the crisis. Further, those benefiting from the dysfunction have a vested interest in continuing the crisis, and can best do so by continuing … Read more

Private prisons as an example of the bankruptcy of libertarian ideology

Posted on April 17, 2014April 19, 2014 by Gus

As a young man I was a libertarian. In time the accumulated problems with the ideology led me to abandon it. But I remain a believer in its most fundamental moral insights (and argue libertarians haven’t any real understanding of … Read more

Considering ‘Privilege’ White, Wiccan, and otherwise.

Posted on April 2, 2014April 2, 2014 by Gus

This is a long post on the mostly bad effects of using the term ‘privilege’ in social and political analysis. I broke it up into three parts at Patheos. Part I dealt with Wiccan privilege. Part II with the concept … Read more

I have posted two more blog essays on the meaning of Pagan religion

Posted on January 24, 2014January 24, 2014 by Gus

The second tin the series is “What is Paganism? Part II: A Spiritual Taxonomy” which gives a more scholarly definition rooted in the basic story that unifies Pagan religion. It also explains when this kind of definition is … Read more

Who are we Pagans? And how can we tell?

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Gus

As modern Pagan religion has grown and flourished people increasingly enter it from different backgrounds, and once involved, explore in different spiritual directions. Is there a common core? I argue yes, and it is an important one. As I work … Read more

Kent Nerburn’s “The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo”: magnificent at many levels

Posted on December 18, 2013December 19, 2013 by Gus

Kent Nerburn’s new The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo: A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky is a wonder. The final volume in a trilogy that is neither Western-style history nor fiction, it does what … Read more