What Would Trajan Do? Part I

 Once upon a time, in the glory days of the Roman Empire, Pliny the Younger had a problem.  It seems certain slaves of the lesser sort — those who had been condemned to slavery for criminal activities — had managed to insinuate themselves into the ranks of municipal slaves.

JTW Podcast: Empiricism Part 2: Locke, Hume, and Voltaire

Today, we present “Part 2” of Professor Dave’s talk on Empiricism.  As Prof. D. says, “We’ve learned about the early figures in the empiricist movement, so let’s continue along the timeline to examine John Locke, David Hume, and Voltaire, among other key figures in the late 17th century. Empiricism helped set the tone for contemporary philosophy, so let's see what these philosophers had to say!”:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 34

 Quite a bit about how AI is replacing human labor from the production process and none of the so-called experts or the powers-that-be appear to be understanding the implications of this.  In the Keynesian universe, all production is due to human labor . . . but what do you do if human labor is completely removed from the production process?  Do we eliminate the excess people?  Or turn people into the owners of the technology that is replacing them?  The latter is the solution in the Economic Democracy Act:

Own or Be . . . What?

 AI — Artificial Intelligence — has been in the news a lot recently.  Possibly this is because the powers-that-be and so-called world leaders seem to exhibit so little of the natural kind.  That purportedly being the case, a regular reader of this blog began asking questions of AI (who better to ask?) about what people who have always worked for a living or who expected to have to work for a living are going to do when AI has taken all the jobs, the Universal Basic Income bites the dust, and the government can no longer fund welfare or even Social Security.

JTW Podcast: Empiricism Part 1: Da Vinci, Bacon, and Hobbes

Today, for our 400^th podcast, we return to Professor Dave who “knows a lot of stuff.”  We don’t always agree with him, but at least we can figure out what those disagreements are!  This podcast is about empiricism.  As Professor Dave says,

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 33

 It appears that the somewhat delayed effect of the Terrible Trump Tariffs will soon be kicking in, and “the average American” — despite all the promises made — will soon be kicked in the teeth by rising prices and disappearing jobs, neither of which will be fixed by trying to change reality.  The only real solution is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act as soon as possible:

Why Economists Reject Binary Economics, V: “Perceived Policy Risks and Inflation Concerns”

The four previous postings on this subject — why so-called mainstream economists reject Binary Economics — we have looked at 1) Lack of Empirical and Econometric Support, 2) Heterodox and Non-Conventional Framework, 3) Criticism of Core Concepts, Particularly “Productiveness”, and 4) Negative Reception by Prominent Economists.  This last, the “negative reception” by prominent economists, is possibly the weakest reason given.

JTW Podcast: The Social Program of Pope Leo XIV

Many people are intrigued by the first U.S.-born pope’s choice of regnal name and his declaration that he would take Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum as his guide.  What does this mean not merely for Catholics, but for everyone?  Dawn Brohawn and Michael D. Greaney give their thoughts on the matter:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 32

 It continues to be difficult to report on news items relating to the Just Third Way when the media are filled with the economic chaos being spread without regard of anything connected to reality.  As always, however, we believe the solution to the chaos and quite a few other things is to adopt the Economic Democracy Act:

Why Economists Reject Binary Economics, IV: “Negative Reception”

 In the three previous postings on this subject, we have been examining (as the title of this posting suggests) why mainstream economists reject Binary Economics.  So far, we have looked at 1) Lack of Empirical and Econometric Support, 2) Heterodox and Non-Conventional Framework, and 3) Criticism of Core Concepts, Particularly “Productiveness”.  Today we look at perhaps the weakest reason, even though some in the modern world give it the greatest weight: Negative Reception by Prominent Economists: the “Non amo te, Sabidi” (“I do not like thee, Doctor Fell”) syndrome:

JTW Podcast: Louis Kelso on 60 Minutes

Mike Wallace interviews the inventor of the ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan), Louis O. Kelso. They discuss ESOP Pros and Cons, ESOP detractors, and Kelso answers the question: “What is an ESOP?”

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 31

 With an appalling sameness, this week’s news items strongly resemble those of last week . . . and the week before . . . and the week before that, and so on.  Some of the reasons are given below in the items listed, but frankly, this situation is going to continue until the Economic Democracy Act is adopted:

Why Economists Reject Binary Economics, III: “Particularly ‘Productiveness’”

 One of the many things conventional mainstream economists find annoying (i.e., incomprehensible) about Binary Economics is the idea of “productiveness.”  In Binary Economics, productiveness is not a synonym for productivity.  It is, rather, an acknowledgement that there is more than one factor of production and that each makes a definable and independent (although not autonomous when the factors are combined) contribution to production.

JTW Podcast: Capital Credit Insurance and Reinsurance

Economic Democracy Act: Expanding Capital Credit and Ownership for All

 

Discover how “the Economic Democracy Act” aims to democratize access to capital ownership through reforms like capital credit insurance and reinsurance.  This video delves into how the Act would make acquiring productive capital a fundamental right, facilitated by interest-free loans and paid off through tax-deductible dividends. Key topics include the establishment of commercial loan default insurance, the role of a Capital Credit Reinsurance Corporation as a backup insurer, and the benefits of commercial portfolio insurance in protecting retirement assets. Learn how this initiative could transform economic opportunities and ensure financial security for every citizen.

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 30

 The news items this week reflect the same problem we noted last week: that under the current administration the term “developing story” has ceased to have any real meaning.  Chaos, both political and economic, seems to be the order of the day.  We do have to wonder when the powers that be are going to wake up and adopt the Economic Democracy Act:

Why Economists Reject Binary Economics, II: Heterodox and Non-Conventional

 As John Maynard Keynes famously declared in the conclusion of his General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (which is not general or much of a theory, and — being obsessed with the Fabian socialist doctrine of “full employment” — has little to do with the real meaning of interest and money),

JTW Podcast: The Economic Democracy Act

 The Economic Democracy Act: Universal Path to Wealth and Economic Power In the first part of our series on the Economic Democracy Act, we delve into the economic disparities rooted in concentrated capital ownership. Historically, wealth and power were tied to land ownership, but today's wealth is generated by technology and income-producing assets. The Economic Democracy Act proposes groundbreaking national legislation to democratize ownership by providing every citizen, from birth to death, equal access to capital credit to invest in profitable, growing businesses. By breaking down barriers in the money system, this act aims to create an economically independent and powerful citizenry, reducing reliance on wages and welfare. Learn how this transformative proposal could grant you a second income and financial freedom through universal access to capital ownership.

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 29

 One of the ongoing problems with trying to report news items of the Just Third Way is that under the current administration the term “developing story” has ceased to have any real meaning.  Chaos, both political and economic, seems to be the order of the day.  We do have to wonder when the powers that be are going to wake up and adopt the Economic Democracy Act:

Why Economists Reject Binary Economics, I: Lack of Empirical Evidence

Just for fun the other day, we asked AI why mainstream economists reject Binary Economics, and it came up with nine reasons, some of which are not so good, and others which are terrible.  In this series we will look at the reasons and see if there are any responses, or if the reason is even valid.

JTW Podcast: Are Human Beings Angelic?

Today’s podcast is another appearance by “Great Books” philosopher Mortimer J. Adler on William F. Buckley’s Firing Line.  Again, we could summarize the video, but it’s better just to watch it yourself:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 28

 We have sad news this week, the passing of one of the pioneer generation of the ESOP movement, Patricia Hetter Kelso.  As co-author with Louis Kelso, she helped present many of the ideas embodied in the Economic Democracy Act:

The Big Beautiful Boondoggle

 The trouble with even the biggest and most beautiful bill is that eventually you have to pay your bills, and the beauty of what you bought may have dimmed a bit by then.  We realize we’re committing a slight “fallacy of equivocation” by using a word meant in one sense in a different sense, but in this case it works.  We think.

JTW Podcast: Adler on Great Books, Religion, Literature and Education

Today’s podcast is another “long-lost treasure” from the legacy left by “Great Books” philosopher Mortimer J. Adler.  We would say more, but it would be better simply to watch or listen to the video:

News from the Network, Vol. 18, No. 27

The Big News this week is the Big Beautiful Bill . . . which as far as we can tell doesn’t do anything to get the Economic Democracy Act: adopted.  Other than that (and including that), here’s what’s been happening that affects the Just Third Way: