Tag Archives: Democracy

Survival of the unfittest

by Aschwin de Wolf Posted on October 12, 2011

Reading the book today, Survival of the Unfittest (1927) by Charles Wicksteed Armstrong, it has all the elements that ensured its descent into completely obscurity: concerns about human degeneration, advocacy of eugenics, and classical liberal views on state and political … Continue reading →

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Gustave Le Bon: secular reactionary

by Aschwin de Wolf Posted on May 17, 2011

Gustave Le Bon (1841- 1931) is among the most undeservedly neglected modern social writers. It is not hard to see why this is the case. Gustave Le Bon was not a religious man but he was skeptical of top-down social … Continue reading →

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Karl Popper’s authoritarian social technologies

by Aschwin de Wolf Posted on January 20, 2009

Karl Popper is known for his influential contributions to the philosophy of science and critical rationalism.  Unfortunately, his attempt to apply critical rationalism to political philosophy produced writings of a more impatient and dubious nature. For example, in 1960 Popper … Continue reading →

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The bell curve of individual choice

by Aschwin de Wolf Posted on December 1, 2008

What is the relationship between individual choice and collective choice? What should be the domain over which a democracy chooses? Prevailing answers to these questions are an important factor affecting the size of government. One argument why imperfect foresight should … Continue reading →

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