tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post2180140616257420652..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Thank You, Mr. Stossel!Gus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-64533068926051855432007-09-26T16:33:00.000-06:002007-09-26T16:33:00.000-06:00This is something I often take it upon myself to d...This is something I often take it upon myself to do here, even if only by noting the "missing pieces".<BR/><BR/>I guess I was so impressed by the lucidity of this piece (and the interesting angle of it being a bad thing to have insurance in certain contexts) that I forgot to do so.<BR/><BR/>It was a good catch by Mr. Laughlin.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-38297456911253062162007-09-26T16:13:00.000-06:002007-09-26T16:13:00.000-06:00Gus is right. We need to make our principled argu...Gus is right. We need to make our principled arguments not only clear, but relevant to the current audience. <BR/><BR/>Rather than merely point out the shortcomings of Stossel's presentation, we should take advantage of what he <I>does</I> give us. Use Stossel's work to illustrate and validate the moral arguments he misses.<BR/><BR/>When you see someone like Stossel leave out the principles, get going and *add them* wherever you can, in blog comments, trackbacks, letters to editors, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-9333657405389511472007-09-25T22:26:00.000-06:002007-09-25T22:26:00.000-06:00Thank you for bringing up that very important aspe...Thank you for bringing up that very important aspect of the fight against socialized medicine.<BR/><BR/>Indirectly, the clarity of Stossel's arguments here and your point bring up another: We should strive to make our fundamental arguments for a more capitalistic medical sector just as clear and obviously relevant to the average, intelligent person as possible.<BR/><BR/>What Stossel does is appeal to reason and to one's implicitly-held values. as far as he goes, he does very well. But I agree with you that more than technical details need addressing.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-90851585893412068022007-09-25T21:37:00.000-06:002007-09-25T21:37:00.000-06:00Stossel offers a pro-capitalist intellectual activ...Stossel offers a pro-capitalist intellectual activist additional ammunition in the fight against statist medicine. However, his ammunition is only technical. He addresses the nature of insurance and some of the statistics.<BR/><BR/>What is missing is reference to a fundamental principle of a free society: I have a *right* to my life, my liberty, and -- especially pertinent here -- my property. No one has a right to take that from me as long as I act in a peaceful and honest manner.<BR/><BR/>Even deeper is another principle that is missing here and from almost every attack on socialized medicine that I have read: The immorality of committing aggression against tax victims.<BR/><BR/>Statist medical care is politically wrong because it violates one's rights. It is immoral because it is based on aggression.<BR/><BR/>It is ironic that the most fundamental principles receive the least attention. A movement that continues to do that is unlikely to succeed in stamping out not only this or that particular statist program but statism as an ideal -- and the altruism that underlies it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com