Monthly Archives: April 2012

The Fundamental Human Right to . . . Join a Union?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Dr. J

The records keep falling here at the Western Tradition on our Great Books Project. This week we’ll pass the 7,500-page mark. Are you ready?  Here are the readings for the upcoming week: Preface to Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman … Continue reading →

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Free Sample Lectures from My Liberty Classroom Series

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Dr. J

Three of my 84 lectures for the Liberty Classroom website have been posted as free samples. Here are the topics: Introduction to Western Civilization Renaissance Humanism Absolutism and Mercantilism The videos are available at this link, where you can also … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Liberal Arts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Indirect Exchange and Market Prices

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Dr. J

Chapter Five of Shawn Ritenour’s Foundations of Economics introduces us to the concept of money, which every society has developed to address the problems inherent to a barter economy. In a society where the division of labor has developed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Economics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Research on Religion Logs 100th Episode

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Dr. J

This week the Research on Religion podcast reached an important milestone by airing its 100th episode. The episode features Prof. Margarita Mooney on the subject of Pope Benedict XVI and Cuba. If you’re a frequent visitor to this blog, no … Continue reading →

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You Can Cheat Death (if Heracles Beats Him up for You)

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Dr. J

Here we are on another Great Books Monday, and we’re about to experience some bracing contrasts in our readings. I guess that’s what you call it when you group a Christian theologian with a medieval romance, secular humanitarianism, and a … Continue reading →

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Exchange, the Division of Labor, and Property Rights

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Dr. J

Chapter 4 of Shawn Ritenour’s Foundations of Economics is the first in the book to focus on economics proper after the laying of much philosophical groundwork in the first three chapters. It also moves from the examination of actions individuals … Continue reading →

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Workers of the World, Unite

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Dr. J

Of the five central epics of Western civilization, we have now finished three with the completion of the Aeneid last week. Fortunately, Euripides isn’t too much of a step down from Virgil, so our standards are still high this week. … Continue reading →

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Francis Bacon on Marriage and Single Life

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Dr. J

One of the advantages of reading great authors of earlier eras is that you get perspectives that don’t square with party lines we’re fed today by dominant cultural forces in the mass media, corporate world, and political classes. With respect … Continue reading →

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My Lectures Available on the New Liberty Classroom Site

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Dr. J

Congratulations to my longtime friend Tom Woods on the launching of his new website Liberty Classroom after a year of planning and much blood, sweat, and tears. If you are interested in history or economics, if you home school your … Continue reading →

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Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Dr. J

We broke the 7,000-page mark last week in our Great Books project, in case you were curious about that sound akin to shattering glass. Here are the readings for the upcoming week: The Aeneid of Virgil, Book XII (GBWW Vol. … Continue reading →

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