Epicurus was political insofar as he saw that it was in the best interest of society that people carry out agreements that promote fellowship and common sense cooperation. This implied a contractual form of government. But Epicurus and his followers disapproved of advocacy for social change. They saw political struggle as creating unnecessary stress, and …
We can all applaud the bi-partisan effort to reduce prison populations. But fewer prisoners in due course means fewer actual prisons, does it not? So which prisons will be kept and which closed down – the public or the private prisons? I am offering no prizes for anyone guessing which! Since politicians will not wish to …
Continue reading ‘Incarceration reform: a further thought’ »
The other day we were with some liberal-minded friends who were excoriating Prime Minister Cameron for not taking in many more Syrian refugees into the UK. Leaving aside for the moment the practical logistical problems facing the EU – the existing housing crisis, jobs and schools, the fears of culture change, and the less than …
Continue reading ‘Struggling with how to view mass migration’ »
Hospices began in England as small, non- profit, community- based organisations, meant to provide compassionate palliative care to the terminally ill. When I ran my company my fellow director’s wife, a dedicated nurse, worked (and died of cancer) in the very first hospice. Because hospice care is funded in America, quite generously, by Medicare, this …
The following has been circulating all over the internet. Apologies if you have already seen it, but one of tasks of Epicureans is to unmask hypocrisy, preferably with humour: “How about we treat every young man who wants to buy a gun like every woman who wants to get an abortion — a mandatory 48-hr …
Continue reading ‘The solution to the American gun problem’ »
