>Do you agree with Hedonism? Is it right?
>Psychological Hedonism says everyone is motivated by their search for pleasure. Ethical Hedonism says everyone ought to seek pleasure, for it is the only thing worth having.
Do you agree?
thebigqs
>Are our debts sustainable?
>We’ve talked before about the Austerity-Stimulus debate, but a lot of it lies in the sustainability of our debts. According to economists D.Miles & A.Scott:
“the sustainability of the public debt is a function of the size of the stock of debt, its average maturity, and the relationship between the average interest rate and the rate of growth of GNP.”
So saying, are the debts of the developed world sustainable?
>What is it to be smart?
>
I know this picture has little relevance but I couldn’t resist putting it up. You’ve got to give credit to a good advert once in a while.
>Questions about Nationalism
>
- What is Nationalism?
- Does it change between different countries? If so why?
- Is it true that as Bertrand Russell said “the highly educated minority in both countries is, on the whole, free from this unfortunate passion”?
- Why do political parties that espouse nationalism tend to drift to the extremes?
- Should we encourage it in politics or discourage it?
>Clegg & Cameron: A match made in heaven?
>
It’s now more than one hundred days since the Conservative-Lib Dem Coalition took power in the UK.
What do you make of it so far?
>What or where is the limit for markets?
>Should markets be unregulated? Should we be able to sell drugs, guns, ourselves, part of ourselves like organs, and various other things likely to grab press attention?
Should markets be heavily regulated? Where is the limit for regulation and where should it come from? Should all regulation be carried out by the state?
>Is globalisation a replacement for imperialism?
>I’ve deliberately made this question open to interpretation so make of it what you will. But to start the discussion, global capital flows were larger as a percentage of GDP at the end of the nineteenth century (i.e. when the European Empires covered about 3/4 of the globe) than today, and some critics talk of “Americanisation” as synonomous with globalisation.
>Why?
>How far should we push equality?
>Technological developers and workers are predicting machines will be as intellectually capable as apes by the end of the century, and also able to feel and empaphize as we do. Suppose a situation came to be where machines were more intelligent than us, and just as life like in that they felt emotions as we do. Would you accord them equal rights? If we accorded them equal rights based on our similarities then why do we have greater rights than apes? If not then how do we justify our ‘human rights’ being solely available to humans?
>Where are the best places to invest in the next 50 years?
>
If someone gave you a million pounds on the stipulation that you invest it where would you invest? Which countries do you think have the best growth prospects?
Which goods and services do you think have most growth potential?
Which currencies do you think need to strengthen?
Battison's Blog 