As it happens, my coblogger Ilya Somin actually posted a pretty thoughtful post explaining why it is indeed not “wrong for libertarian academics who oppose government ownership of universities to take jobs with state schools.” I should also note that the most strident Libertarians most certainly do not all work for taxpayer-funded institutions (except insofar as many private institutions get some taxpayer funds too); nor is Glenn Reynolds a particularly strident Libertarian.
Eugene Volokh: As it happens, my coblogger Ilya Somin actually posted a pretty thoughtful post explaining why it is indeed not “wrong for libertarian academics who oppose government ownership of universities to take jobs with state schools.”
There’s a big difference between an explanation and a rationalization,
“To the extent that academics influence political debates, picking Option 2 means that fewer such opportunities to influence opinion will be in libertarian hands and more will be controlled by our ideological rivals. ”
Ilya Somin doesn’t seem to understand that a Libertarian who uses a government-funded position to rail against the evils of government-funded positions isn’t influencing anything but people’s sense of humor.
Listen, there are only two types of activities in this world that have value. One is producing something that other people are willing to pay for in a free market. The other is spending your free time telling the world how great free markets are.
orca: Ilya Somin doesn’t seem to understand that a Libertarian who uses a government-funded position to rail against the evils of government-funded positions isn’t influencing anything but people’s sense of humor.
What’s up with all the hate against Reynolds? Could it be that he actually reaches people with his often humorous arguments while all the usual liberal scream-fest blogs just turn people off?
But in substance, small-l libertarians aren’t necessarily opposed to government jobs – where those jobs provide value and where they are best done by government. Most of us are content with them paving streets and policing the citizenry. And if government has a virtual monopoly on education, are you seriously suggesting that libertarians should forego attempting to disseminate our philosophy out of some misguided adherence to principle? You really expect us to commit philosophical suicide, on your say so? The fact that we have to work within the system to change it doesn’t deprive us of the right to advocate for change. If you are really suggesting that, you really are the fascists that we depict you in caricature.
As to the video. It is my opinion that Papola and Roberts have done more to bring economics to the “masses” than any single person before them. Their rap is econ 101 in a seven minute song. It’s funny as all-get-out, has great production values, and is generally the best thing since sliced bread. At the very least, it will hopefully encourage the curious to get out and figure out all the references.
Jagermeister: And if government has a virtual monopoly on education, are you seriously suggesting that libertarians should forego attempting to disseminate our philosophy out of some misguided adherence to principle?
I was unaware that government had a “virtual monopoly” on higher learning in the United States. Must be why neither Reynolds nor Somin suck at the teat of Harvard or Yale.
loki13: I was unaware that government had a “virtual monopoly” on higher learning in the United States. (obnoxious rhetoric deleted)
You’re kidding, right? Professors Somin and Reynolds are accused of hypocrisy in working for institutions with (primarily) public funding. Many public universities have substantial private funding, and almost all private universities accept government dollars, at the very least in the form of student loans. That’s how government gets a say in how private universities operate – to the continual chagrin and complaints of some conservatives.
So, for the purpose of the proposed “purity test” of accepting public money, yes, I’d say that government has a “virtual monopoly” on education, including “higher learning”.
As a matter of fact, I think I saw an article recently with the President of Yale asking for more government funding. I don’t keep track of what Harvard is up to, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find they had the same attitude.
But, you probably knew all that anyway, right? So, why make such a false comment? Just another opportunity to toss barbs at Profs Reynolds and Somin? You are just proving my point that these comments are motivated more by animus than reason.
Some of these arguments are just silly. It’s really quite simple.
Libertarians believe that government performs some functions that should instead be performed by private institutions; these might include running universities, educating students, delivering the mail, etc. There are other government functions that should not be performed by anyone; these include breaking into people’s homes and arresting them for smoking pot, or engaging in illicit forms of sexual gratification with other consenting adults.
If Reynolds were engaged in the latter activity, the amusement some above seem to find would be warranted. A “libertarian” who earns his keep as a DEA agent is, in fact, something laughable on its face. But someone who earns his living engaged in the former category of activities is not violating some basic libertarian principle, especially in a society, such as ours, where huge portions of the job market has been usurped by the government.
Would anyone seriously argue that a Marxist philosopher or economist who accepted a salary that was based on his competitive demand in the marketplace rather than what he “needs” is a shill selling out the Marxist notion of “from each according to his abilties, to each according to his needs”?
Would anyone seriously argue that a Marxist philosopher or economist who accepted a salary that was based on his competitive demand in the marketplace rather than what he “needs” is a shill selling out the Marxist notion of “from each according to his abilties, to each according to his needs”?
As someone who grew up around quite a few Marxist philosophers, some of whom have done pretty well, the answer is clearly that Marxist philosophers seldom make such arguments. At least, not when negotiating salaries with their department head.
Reynolds primarily criticizes the left for the same reason OK primarily criticizes the right here – he wants a better one. I’ve known a lot of people like Reynolds’ dad. The current crop of lefties sadly don’t hold a candle.
lgm: Jagermeister says:
What’s up with all the hate against Reynolds?
See CrazyTrain above.
I got no hate for Glenn Reynolds. He is good at what he does — aggregating right-wing talking points in the blogosphere for like-minded readers. I wish he would be a little more honest about his partisanship, but hey, he’s not the only guy in the media who is not fully honest about that (on both sides). His site is not my cup of tea though (obviously).
Criticism of the current Left is not the same as Right. Check the tudes and views of the actual Left and Right Wings of that old National Assembly. Reynolds’ free-thinking and irreverence would place him firmly on the Left. The altar (academedia) and throne (bigovernment) boys of our current “Left” are dogs in the wrong manger.
In addition to what others have noted, I’d cite what I see as his intellectual dishonesty. He has a petty trick of linking to outrageous items with a suggestive little nod. Then, when people express the legitimate outrage at what he linked, he’ll say that of course he didn’t mean to “approve” of the sentiment, he just thought it was “interesting” or would “generate debate”. I gave up reading his trash very quickly.
lgm says:
For Reynolds, a talk about economic illiteracy would be autobiographical.
February 18, 2010, 11:15 amLN says:
Has Reynolds gone Galt yet from his taxpayer-funded government job?
February 18, 2010, 11:41 am244 Fed.Appx. 110 says:
Is there a transcript for those of us at work who cannot view videos?
February 18, 2010, 12:32 pmorca says:
The fact that the most strident Libertarians all work for taxpayer-funded institutions should not be a source of amusement.
February 18, 2010, 1:09 pmLN says:
Well, at least his wife works in the court system as an expert witness. Behold the power of the free market!
February 18, 2010, 1:22 pmEugene Volokh says:
As it happens, my coblogger Ilya Somin actually posted a pretty thoughtful post explaining why it is indeed not “wrong for libertarian academics who oppose government ownership of universities to take jobs with state schools.” I should also note that the most strident Libertarians most certainly do not all work for taxpayer-funded institutions (except insofar as many private institutions get some taxpayer funds too); nor is Glenn Reynolds a particularly strident Libertarian.
February 18, 2010, 2:17 pmCrazyTrain says:
No, he is not. Strident repeater of republican talking points and main hub of the right-wing blogospheric echo chamber, however . . .
February 18, 2010, 2:37 pmGlenn Reynolds says:
Stridency isn’t really my idiom. Sorry. I’ll try to do better . . . .
February 18, 2010, 2:42 pmorca says:
The courts aren’t taxpayer-funded institutions?
February 18, 2010, 2:55 pmorca says:
There’s a big difference between an explanation and a rationalization,
“To the extent that academics influence political debates, picking Option 2 means that fewer such opportunities to influence opinion will be in libertarian hands and more will be controlled by our ideological rivals. ”
Ilya Somin doesn’t seem to understand that a Libertarian who uses a government-funded position to rail against the evils of government-funded positions isn’t influencing anything but people’s sense of humor.
February 18, 2010, 3:31 pmProf. Glenn Reynolds (InstaPundit) Talks to Prof. Russ Roberts About His Hayek/Keynes Rap Video, and About American Economic Literacy (or Lack… | Liberal Whoppers says:
[...] reading here: Prof. Glenn Reynolds (InstaPundit) Talks to Prof. Russ Roberts About His Hayek/Keynes Rap Video, and… [...]
February 18, 2010, 3:37 pmLN says:
Listen, there are only two types of activities in this world that have value. One is producing something that other people are willing to pay for in a free market. The other is spending your free time telling the world how great free markets are.
Everything else is pointless.
February 18, 2010, 3:43 pmZubon says:
Well, that settles it. Orca says the libertarians are wrong, as are their explanations. We can all go home now.
February 18, 2010, 3:54 pmorca says:
How seriously would you take a 500 pound fitness instructor? That’s how I see government employees who claim to be libertarians…
February 18, 2010, 4:22 pmCareless says:
So you’d be shocked to learn that, for example, most baseball hitting coaches are more like this guy than this guy?
February 18, 2010, 4:45 pmArthur Kirkland says:
Prof. Reynolds is as much a libertarian as is the average American.
February 18, 2010, 5:10 pmorca says:
Not really, some of the best hitters is history were quite out of shape.
February 18, 2010, 5:23 pmJagermeister says:
What’s up with all the hate against Reynolds? Could it be that he actually reaches people with his often humorous arguments while all the usual liberal scream-fest blogs just turn people off?
But in substance, small-l libertarians aren’t necessarily opposed to government jobs – where those jobs provide value and where they are best done by government. Most of us are content with them paving streets and policing the citizenry. And if government has a virtual monopoly on education, are you seriously suggesting that libertarians should forego attempting to disseminate our philosophy out of some misguided adherence to principle? You really expect us to commit philosophical suicide, on your say so? The fact that we have to work within the system to change it doesn’t deprive us of the right to advocate for change. If you are really suggesting that, you really are the fascists that we depict you in caricature.
As to the video. It is my opinion that Papola and Roberts have done more to bring economics to the “masses” than any single person before them. Their rap is econ 101 in a seven minute song. It’s funny as all-get-out, has great production values, and is generally the best thing since sliced bread. At the very least, it will hopefully encourage the curious to get out and figure out all the references.
What have any of you nay-sayers done lately?
February 18, 2010, 7:28 pmArthur Kirkland says:
Pointing out that Prof. Reynolds is no more libertarian than the average American constitutes hate?
Were I to point out that Prof. Reynolds is more accurately termed a conservative than a libertarian, would that constitute attempted murder?
February 18, 2010, 8:04 pmloki13 says:
I was unaware that government had a “virtual monopoly” on higher learning in the United States. Must be why neither Reynolds nor Somin suck at the teat of Harvard or Yale.
February 18, 2010, 8:04 pmJagermeister says:
Your comments weren’t the impetus for my mine. But, if you’re feeling guilty about hating Reynolds, by all means offer your mea culpa.
February 18, 2010, 8:14 pmlgm says:
See CrazyTrain above.
February 18, 2010, 8:32 pmJagermeister says:
You’re kidding, right? Professors Somin and Reynolds are accused of hypocrisy in working for institutions with (primarily) public funding. Many public universities have substantial private funding, and almost all private universities accept government dollars, at the very least in the form of student loans. That’s how government gets a say in how private universities operate – to the continual chagrin and complaints of some conservatives.
So, for the purpose of the proposed “purity test” of accepting public money, yes, I’d say that government has a “virtual monopoly” on education, including “higher learning”.
As a matter of fact, I think I saw an article recently with the President of Yale asking for more government funding. I don’t keep track of what Harvard is up to, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find they had the same attitude.
But, you probably knew all that anyway, right? So, why make such a false comment? Just another opportunity to toss barbs at Profs Reynolds and Somin? You are just proving my point that these comments are motivated more by animus than reason.
February 18, 2010, 8:34 pmOff Kilter says:
Some of these arguments are just silly. It’s really quite simple.
Libertarians believe that government performs some functions that should instead be performed by private institutions; these might include running universities, educating students, delivering the mail, etc. There are other government functions that should not be performed by anyone; these include breaking into people’s homes and arresting them for smoking pot, or engaging in illicit forms of sexual gratification with other consenting adults.
If Reynolds were engaged in the latter activity, the amusement some above seem to find would be warranted. A “libertarian” who earns his keep as a DEA agent is, in fact, something laughable on its face. But someone who earns his living engaged in the former category of activities is not violating some basic libertarian principle, especially in a society, such as ours, where huge portions of the job market has been usurped by the government.
Would anyone seriously argue that a Marxist philosopher or economist who accepted a salary that was based on his competitive demand in the marketplace rather than what he “needs” is a shill selling out the Marxist notion of “from each according to his abilties, to each according to his needs”?
February 18, 2010, 8:43 pmGlenn Reynolds says:
Off Kilter writes:
As someone who grew up around quite a few Marxist philosophers, some of whom have done pretty well, the answer is clearly that Marxist philosophers seldom make such arguments. At least, not when negotiating salaries with their department head.
February 18, 2010, 8:50 pmCurious passerby says:
CrazyTrain says:
Glenn Reynolds [is a] Strident repeater of republican talking points and main hub of the right-wing blogospheric echo chamber.
Yeah, I know, that’s why he’s for gay marriage, legalized drugs and abortion rights. Hey Crazy, how many layers of tin foil in that cap???
February 18, 2010, 9:28 pmDesiderius says:
Reynolds primarily criticizes the left for the same reason OK primarily criticizes the right here – he wants a better one. I’ve known a lot of people like Reynolds’ dad. The current crop of lefties sadly don’t hold a candle.
February 18, 2010, 10:02 pmCrazyTrain says:
I got no hate for Glenn Reynolds. He is good at what he does — aggregating right-wing talking points in the blogosphere for like-minded readers. I wish he would be a little more honest about his partisanship, but hey, he’s not the only guy in the media who is not fully honest about that (on both sides). His site is not my cup of tea though (obviously).
February 18, 2010, 10:50 pmDesiderius says:
CrazyTrain,
Criticism of the current Left is not the same as Right. Check the tudes and views of the actual Left and Right Wings of that old National Assembly. Reynolds’ free-thinking and irreverence would place him firmly on the Left. The altar (academedia) and throne (bigovernment) boys of our current “Left” are dogs in the wrong manger.
February 19, 2010, 6:02 amMark Field says:
In addition to what others have noted, I’d cite what I see as his intellectual dishonesty. He has a petty trick of linking to outrageous items with a suggestive little nod. Then, when people express the legitimate outrage at what he linked, he’ll say that of course he didn’t mean to “approve” of the sentiment, he just thought it was “interesting” or would “generate debate”. I gave up reading his trash very quickly.
February 19, 2010, 10:14 amelectronic display says:
I should also note that the most strident Libertarians most certainly do not all work for taxpayer-funded institutions
June 14, 2010, 2:13 am