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Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Questions for Richard Epstein
On page 71 of his beautiful book The Classical Liberal Constitution, Richard A. Esptein acknowledges “how difficult it is to deal with systematic errors in [constitutional] interpretation that perforce creep into all interpretive efforts with the passage of time” (emphasis ours). … Continue reading
Posted in Law, Logical Fallacies, Politics
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Prime Directive
The Prime Directive — the guiding principle of the United Federation of Planets in the fictitious universe of Star Trek — prohibits Starfleet personnel from interfering with the internal development of alien civilizations. According to this entry in Wikipedia, however, the Prime Directive “is inconsistently applied, depending on a planet’s … Continue reading
Stare decisis (questions rarely asked)
The doctrine of stare decisis — the cornerstone of the common law tradition — is a legal principle by which judges are self-obliged to adhere to precedents or previous court decisions. Furthermore, this venerable doctrine is designed to promote stability, predictability, and the rule of law. Hey, … Continue reading
Reverse auction (Super Bowl edition)
Another day, another potentially creative use of an auction mechanism. According to this report in the Wall Street Journal, the NFL has reportedly requested its top three choices for the 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show — Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Coldplay (Cold…who?) — to pay the … Continue reading
Tax-collection devices
This little yellow fire hydrant, located at 393 University Avenue in Toronto, has raked in more than $289,000 in parking-infraction revenue for the City of Toronto since 2008. (You can read the full report here.) As you can see from this … Continue reading
Should we pay people to vote?
According to this recent report by David Zahniser of the L.A. Times, only 23% percent of registered voters ended up casting ballots in last year’s mayoral election. To remedy this raging epidemic of voter apathy, the Los Angeles County Ethics Commission (!) … Continue reading
Is the Coase theorem unfalsifiable?
Our recent discussions with Glen Whitman about slavery, Haitian zombies, and the Coase Theorem has led us to think deeper about the relation between the Coase Theorem and other “legal failures.” (We consider the institution of slavery a paradigm case of … Continue reading
Does the institution of slavery refute the Coase Theorem?
We think it does … because slaves by definition are unable to bargain for their freedom. Our colleague and good friend Glen Whitman says it does not … read his reasons and our objections to his argument in the comments section to … Continue reading
prior probability 