The Musings of Scott

The most brilliant minds are those that view societal issues in multiple contexts at once. It was because of the breadth of Freidrich Hayek’s knowledge of history, philosophy, economics, and insight into human nature that he promoted economic systems that functioned more like a biological organism as opposed to a machine consisting of parts. In this video he also displays rare (for an economist) on-camera charisma, gracefully addressing concerns while intelligently dissecting the issues faced by Britain in the 1980′s. In review of current world events, one would be hard pressed to ignore the insight and wisdom he displays in this interview.

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It is time to stop hoping and to start acting. Your true power as a citizen is in your votes. Inform yourself beyond the superficial and wield this right as the responsibility and privilege that it is.

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Rather than give my 2 cents I’d rather share what has been making me think and reflect upon the current state of the world. At the moment it seems chock full of people ready to rebel and change things, but who seem more focused on revenge, or breaking the status quo, over replacing it with something better. Lots of anger but a severe lack of focus and, in some cases, morality. Some of the titles on the videos don’t do their content justice.

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Wikileaks, government transparency, applying the Bill of Rights to the internet, hacktivism, and Intellectual Property versus reality are all really important issues that the status quo would prefer you not get involved in.

The Massachusetts Pirate Party is groundbreaking for the United States, when in March of this year they became the first recognized “Pirate” party in the United States. This should come of no surprise, since the Boston area has been a hotbed of centerist politics (probably because it’s nation leading proportion of young adults) despite it’s long reputation of being a sure-fire blue state. Anyone who has been following the eroding definition of digital rights the past few years will recognize that our government is clearly inept in the modern world (as are their “experts“), yet both major parties continuously demand more control and and exercise free reign to do as they please. It’s a slippery slope when we continuously have asterisks on various amendments in the Bill of Rights because some bureaucrat thinks that totalitarianism makes his job easier and thus you more safe.

They Don't Actually Dress Like Pirates (unfortunately)

Basically, the Pirate stance is that these lazy totalitarians should be thwarted, by flipping the table and having the Government work transparently (to ensure they are actually working for us) while protecting individual privacy, as well as preventing copyright litigation from infringing upon the natural evolution of culture. Winklevosses need not apply. If you read Techdirt regularly, you will likely agree with most of the Pirate platform.

Pirate Party on Facebook, Follow Them On Twitter

Folks in the Boston area have the opportunity to meet and hear the platform and ideology first hand from my friends at the Pirate Party. They’ll be in attendance at ArtBeat this weekend (Saturday July 16), engaging folks in conversation and making them think about these important yet whitewashed cultural issues at a great local cultural event. Below is a video I found showing highlights from last year’s ArtBeat.

Somerville ArtBeat 2010 Compilation

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It was a busy week for hacking news

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My best news finds of the week

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Many guffaws are being had at Anthony Weiner’s expense, not so much for being yet another politician with his pants down, but for getting caught by a rogue tweet. It seems Mr. Weiner’s Klout score has been steadily rising since admitting to his sexy social networking ways this week, and the drama has been further unfolding as the press rabidly devour every new detail. Let’s see how well Rep Weiner’s Klout score reflects his sudden boost in influence:

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As you may or may not know, Atlas Shrugged is still in theaters. It holds the unique qualification of being one of the few movies to get almost universally bad press (although the media has been sure to not mention it at all whenever possible). Having seen it this past weekend, I went in with an objective eye (being sure to not let my love of the book taint my review of the movie), and I left that theater angry.

I was not angry at the adaptation, in fact I quite enjoyed the movie (as did the 3 other people I saw it with). No I was angry at the overwhelming negative reviews: simply put, many them are unwarranted (and I left wondering if many had been “prewritten” before the movie was viewed).

Before I address the common criticisms of the movie, I did have a couple of criticisms of my own. I am an adamant movie buff, watching many per week. While I truly enjoyed the movie, I do think there are some improvements to be made before the next installment:
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How is this:

Different from this?

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EconStories.tv knocks one out of the park with the sequel to it’s Keynes vs. Hayek rap battle. This video is a well crafted argument, and ultimately a solid depiction of American economic policy. 2011 is not even half way through, but I am doubting anyone exceeds the cleverness and production quality of this intelligent satire.

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