tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post112060553738038177..comments2023-06-23T07:38:57.177-07:00Comments on Critical Mastiff: "Enlightened Self-Interest" vs. Communal ResponsibilityMastiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-38544636838264330302008-04-21T19:17:00.000-07:002008-04-21T19:17:00.000-07:00Where in the text, did Tocqueville cite the Americ...Where in the text, did Tocqueville cite the Americans as clearing a fallen tree? I am writing a paper on the topic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1121335250361102022005-07-14T03:00:00.000-07:002005-07-14T03:00:00.000-07:00All right; setting aside the question of U.S. vs. ...<I>All right; setting aside the question of U.S. vs. everybody else, it is still rather interesting to see which states within the U.S. are most generous. Methodological issues disappear at this level, I think.</I><BR/><BR/>no, they don't. not at all, and, in fact, quite the contrary.<BR/><BR/>the state-by-state data is derived from tax returns, which include church donations as charitable Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1121143308512444662005-07-11T21:41:00.000-07:002005-07-11T21:41:00.000-07:00You might find the book The Voluntary City interes...You might find the book <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0472088378/patriscontactjug" REL="nofollow">The Voluntary City</A> interesting, it talks about communities handling duties that we normally think of as being governmental.<BR/><BR/>- Patri FriedmanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1121109525807870492005-07-11T12:18:00.000-07:002005-07-11T12:18:00.000-07:00You know, this is the exact debate that's currentl...You know, this is the exact debate that's currently happening in the software industry. Open source software is created by the community and given away. Bill Gates likens it to communism but in reality it leads to standards and transparency and ultimately more market freedom.Anonymous Personhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07498161430671104743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1121105463533820172005-07-11T11:11:00.000-07:002005-07-11T11:11:00.000-07:00Very interesting post. A broader enlightened self...Very interesting post. <BR/><BR/>A broader enlightened self-interest can and should be marketed as a positive alternative to state involvement. It is harder than it sounds, however.<BR/><BR/>One compelling reason for state participation in social services is because it is cost-effective to amortize the cost of a necessary component of civil society over the entire population vs. only those who Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1120741851445111452005-07-07T06:10:00.000-07:002005-07-07T06:10:00.000-07:00Granted, Sister. If you read my previous post on m...Granted, Sister. If you read my previous post on my professor, you'll see that we don't really see eye-to-eye on a few things, and he does have a tendency of conflating a number of different causes into one semi-malicious Cause.<BR/><BR/>I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Stick around, maybe you'll see something else you like :-)Mastiffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1120675376486108812005-07-06T11:42:00.000-07:002005-07-06T11:42:00.000-07:00Hi, Mastiff. I'm from the other side of the aisle...Hi, Mastiff. I'm from the other side of the aisle, and came here by way of Ezra....<BR/><BR/>I thought this piece was quite interesting and enjoyed reading it; I have just one comment for your consideration, in reference to the following:<BR/><BR/><I>Americans used to be motivated chiefly by a sense of virtue based on "Love your neighbor." That is, your first duty was to care for those closest Melissa McEwanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04784594504716679607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1120666105982690062005-07-06T09:08:00.000-07:002005-07-06T09:08:00.000-07:00All right; setting aside the question of U.S. vs. ...All right; setting aside the question of U.S. vs. everybody else, it is still rather interesting to see which states within the U.S. are most generous. Methodological issues disappear at this level, I think.<BR/><BR/>And in any event, I'm not trying to say that we give enough charity; I want to see a whole lot more, but given freely to whomever the giver chooses to give. That requires something Mastiffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1120663209458659232005-07-06T08:20:00.000-07:002005-07-06T08:20:00.000-07:00In my experience, churches are often used to laund...In my experience, churches are often used to launder gifts so that they are tax deductible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1120659275678975522005-07-06T07:14:00.000-07:002005-07-06T07:14:00.000-07:00What fraction of church donations go to help the p...What fraction of church donations go to help the poor etc.? You're right that it would be unfair not to include those donations at all, but it would be equally unfair to credit 100% or not to count the same figures for other countries. I suspect that after those adjustments were made the picture would look much the same. Americans might not be the most miserly people in the world, but they're Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1120656104898187712005-07-06T06:21:00.000-07:002005-07-06T06:21:00.000-07:00As far as I know, if you include donations to reli...As far as I know, if you include donations to religious institutions (churches), the US is first, if not, the US is not (can't dig up a source right now). Since churches do use the money for projects to help the poor, the homeless, etc, it's reasonable to include this way of giving. Still, it is an interesting nuance to bring to the discussion, I think.Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16729021260184985416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-1120650873987424972005-07-06T04:54:00.000-07:002005-07-06T04:54:00.000-07:00I've never believed the claim that US citizens giv...I've never believed the claim that US citizens give more privately than the citizens of other nations. For example, consider <A HREF="http://foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=2540&page=7" REL="nofollow">this</A>. It shows Norway giving nearly 5x as much per capita privately <B>and</B> more than 6x publicly. Ireland, which has nowhere near our per-capita GDP, also exceeds the US in both Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com