Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

And this shows that the problem is with for-profit, privatized health care. We cannot trust the health insurance companies, doctors who overcharge, corrupt hospitals, or the unscrupulous pharmaceutical industry. And I agree that The ACA stinks—it is a …

Irfan, as I mentioned in a previous response, governments such as the Soviet one were not socialist (though they called themselves that)—they were an example of state capitalism. State capitalism is not a redundant term. In it, the state is acting as a…

In talking to Susan above, I mentioned anecdotes going in various different directions. I don’t feel comfortable discussing the details of people’s health care situations, but for whatever it’s worth, one of my friends in that situati…

Saw it. I get what he’s saying, but not sure where he ends up on Medicare for All. And I’m curious: where do you end up on that, doc? LikeLike

Give em hell. I saw it on Facebook. Take your time responding, no rush. I’m back on the treadmill part of my week, so my responses will be slower. LikeLike

I’m about to recount an almost entirely inconsequential political incident, the strange case of John F. Roth, mayor of Mahwah, a small, affluent town in northeastern New Jersey. But while the incident is almost entirely inconsequential, I’d say that precisely one feature has broad significance. Let’s see if you and I agree on what it…

Running off to a protest, so cannot respond in full, now, but what I should have said is that capitalism is the basis of all modern war. Greed is the basis of all war—and capitalism is the manifestation of that greed and is the promoter of that greed. …

To your point about the plainly foreseeable “unforeseen” consequences of the government and/or large corporations being empowered to control the flow of healthcare dollars. Whether it’s a greedy corporation or a greedy federal agency …

I really don’t agree that “capitalism is the basis of all war.” That just seems impossible. Capitalism is a relatively modern phenomenon: it came into existence, at the earliest, around the time of the Renaissance. But war pre-dates t…