Disqus - Latest Comments for DonaQixota

Re: Bio

DonaQixota — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:57:42 -0000

"a handy forewarning of a straw man argument"

Aw, James, don't be so suspicious!

"... "sustainability" is ill-defined ..." What that says to me is that we (?) need to get on with tying the protean down. Your second para is a trifle unclear, but I take it to mean that you think that tackling externalities is both desirable and feasible. If so, then I fail to understand why any environmentally concerned person would argue with that as a good starting point for further discussion. Perhaps I'm missing something?

"preferred "old Keynes" ..." Always the way, isn't it. As an 18 yr old student, I remember a ~~lecherer~~ lecturer warning me never to trust any man under 25 ... but I suspect he had ulterior motives.

If it doesn't work, please excuse my little html experiment above.

Re: Bio

DonaQixota — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:39:29 -0000

Oh, I see I’ve arrived late again on this one. What is it with your disqus thingy, James - is it because I’m on dial-up that it seems to hate me?

On this sustainability issue, you all seem to be at cross-purposes.

Like you, Glenn, I thought that James didn’t think he gives a toss about “sustainababble and communitwaddle”. It will be fun to watch the conservative blue-green wing slug it out with the ultra-libertarian wing - who are about as appealing as the ultra-leftie loons.

Then I read this from James:

“If you were to ask me how I would recognise sustainability, I would be
looking for evidence that a {concept, activity, transaction} to be judged
was self-supporting and did not cause harm or economic impact to people not
directly engaged in that {concept, activity, transaction}. In economic terms
one might say that a sustainable activity is that in which there are no externalities, or at least one where externalities are minimised.”

This seems to make total sense, as does Chris’s contribution. Are you suggesting, James, that dealing with externalities, ie. infringements on the liberty of others, is just not do-able, or not desirable?

Don’t mention Keynes - seems to me he’s one of the well meaning do-gooders who’s gotten us so deep in the doodoo with his everlasting deficit financing and government debt, all in pursuit of an unattainable ideal of constant “full employment.” Definitely not sustainable. Him and his stock speculation and lucre, he was New Labour before TonyB was even born!

Re: Bio

DonaQixota — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:56:56 -0000

"this looks so awful it's not true"

And you haven’t even seen this yet, Michael:

http://www.humanitarianofbr...