My "Political Philosophy"

[Borodog]

[ QUOTE ]
If you want to call it that. Someone else will tell me what the name of it is as I doubt it is original. It's based on three things.

1. Different people want different things. Some wnat the feeling heroin gives them. Some enjoy seeing a child smile. Or Gary Carson frown. Or hitting a home run. And they put different values on it.

2. There are two good reasons to not mindlessly seek what you want the most. One is that there may be immediate downsides to doing this. Physical injuries, legal punishments, punishments from God if you believe in him, or for some, a sense of discomfort because they believe that seeking certain pleasures don't fit into their own "principles". Either because the pleasure is "immoral" to them or the methods to attain it are. A second reason to consider eschewing instant rewards would be if that path reduces the chances of getting rewards in the future. However when making that calculation it is important to realize that a bird in the hand is often worth two in the bush. The future rewards might not show up. Or you might die. Or you might not enjoy them as much at a more advanced age.

3. Once you have figured out yourself and your goals using the precepts above, you then need to know one last thing. Life is a poker game.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've bolded the bits that I think are particularly Austrian:

1. Preferences are individual
2. Value is subjective
3. Humans plan rationally and act purposefully
4. Humans prefer more goods to less
5. Time preference (people prefer goods sooner rather than later)
6. Future goods are also discounted by risk
7. Those who make better decisions will tend to be rewarded for it

You should read [/i]Man, Economy & State[/i].

[Zeno]

Hume Has His Say Also


-Zeno: Theist Zen Master, TV Repairman, Atheist Poker Player, and part-time short order cook.

[andyfox]

1400 pages? There's more of a chance he'll convert to Protestantism.

[jackflashdrive]

"or for some, a sense of discomfort because they believe that seeking certain pleasures don't fit into their own "principles"."

I think everything in your OP is clear except that you seem to express contempt or skepticism (or something) for principles but it is not clear to me what you think principles encompass. How are principles different from desires?

[Borodog]

[ QUOTE ]
1400 pages? There's more of a chance he'll convert to Protestantism.

[/ QUOTE ]

Either would make for an entertaining thread.

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]
1400 pages? There's more of a chance he'll convert to Protestantism.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have my odds on Confucianism.

-Zeno

[foal]

"political" refers to organization/regulation of large groups of people. I don't see how your post is relevant to that, nor how a political philosophy could be built on it. your "1." and "2." just seem like obvious common sense. "3. life is a poker game" -- well sure, EV is a perfectly acceptable model for evaluating political systems/philosophies, but it is not one itself.

weird post.

[SNOWBALL]

[ QUOTE ]
Get help if little girls don't turn you on. Or if bare feet do .

[/ QUOTE ]

typo I presume

[Chunwah]

This isn't far of some of the milder Satanic religions.

I guess your number 2 covers this indirectly, but one reason to limit pleasure is because excess pleasure leads to needing more and more and becomes self destructive in many cases.

Also, much happiness can come from things that at first don't seem particularly pleasurable at first glance- such as meditation.

[madnak]

What do you mean by "Satanic" religions?