Book Description
Darwin's greatest accomplishment was to show how life might be explained as the result of natural selection. But does Darwin's theory mean that life was unintended? William A. Dembski argues that it does not. As the leading proponent of intelligent design, Dembski reveals a designer capable of originating the complexity and specificity found throughout the cosmos. Scientists and theologians alike will find this book of interest as it brings the question of creation firmly into the realm of scientific debate. Updated with a new Preface by the author.
Customer Reviews:
Stop trying to fill in the blanks.......2007-07-11
Even if someone decided to believe that evolution cannot explain every single detail about nature, there is no reason to simply fill in the blanks with some kind of god.
A lack of complete knowledge is a reason to keep studying and keep searching for the verifiable answer. To fill in the gaps of our knowledge with "god did it" is senseless and irresponsible logic.
An excellent argument, intelligently presented.......2006-08-21
I was surprised to see this book tagged by someone named "John" (most likely the John Kwok who reviewed the book below) with 'science fiction.' Ironically, avowed atheist and evolutionist Richard Dawkins once stated that "this book [referring to one of his books] should be read as though it is science fiction."
This book is very technically complex with mathematics that went completely over my head. However, the fact remains that evolution does not answer all the questions that neo-Darwinians wished it did. Intelligent design provides that answer. If an arrowhead were found, an archaeologist would study it and classify it as perhaps coming from the Bronze Age. But to then turn around and state that the more highly complex DNA molecule 'just happened' by 'blind, random chance' is a huge leap of faith and seems, by all accounts, unreasonable and illogical.
Intelligent design is not simply going to go away because a few atheists and scientists want it to. A poll revealed that 51% of Americans doubt the validity of evolution. Does this mean that they are all 'stupid' and 'uninformed' as Dawkins once claime? No, it does not. It means that the evidence for evolution has not completely convinced them. Religion may or may not be a factor, since even agnostics put their trust in intelligent design. To dismiss it as being a theological or religious argument ignores this fact and reduces it to a philosophical debate, not an empirical one.
'Tis Philosophical Nonsense, Might as Well be a Text on Klingon Cosmology............2006-08-14
I had once remarked, in a previous Amazon.com review of another book written by William Dembski, how I was amazed by his literary productivity, observing that he had published far more books in a short span of time than either Niles Eldredge or Frank McCourt combined (I am sure that both Eldredge and McCourt would be in complete agreement.). My amazement continues in my latest review of "No Free Lunch: Why Specified Complexity Cannot Be Purchased without Intelligence", since Dembski has had more time writing self-serving defenses of Intelligent Design and his "explanatory filter" than conducting any serious research which could shed some light on this issue. Once more, Dembski uses some intellectually sloppy logic to contend that irreducible complexity cannot be the result of anything other than intelligence, presumably from the hand of an Intelligent Designer (He's unnamed, but for those who wish to understand who the Designer is, then you should realize that this individual is known to millions as Jehovah, Allah, Ahura Mazda, or rather, in plain English, our Christian Lord, GOD.). As another customer reviewer has noted aptly, Dembski has provided a transparently sophisticated statement of William Paley's "Watch maker" argument, which was considered, then refuted, by leading scientists during the 18th and 19th Centuries, many of whom were also members of the Protestant clergy, especially in Great Britain (In other words, "Intelligent Design" is not a bold new scientific theory, but merely, the rebirth of an outmoded, intellectually disingenuous idea which was rejected by prominent scientists hundreds of years ago.).
The arguments presented by Dembski are not only intellectually dishonest, but now, irrelevant, as determined by Republican Federal Judge John Jones in his landmark, historic decision for the Kitzmiller vs. Dover Board of Education trial; Jones concluded that intelligent design is a religious doctrine masquerading as science (It is posted online:
htttp://www2.ncseweb.org/kvd/all_legal/2005-12-20_kitzmiller_decision.pdf).
Furthermore, thoughtful, reasonable conservatives like Charles Krauthammer and George Will have written lucid, brilliant columns praising the theory of evolution via natural selection, and condemning intelligent design for being an unscientific, religious doctrine (EDITORIAL NOTE: I greatly appreciate Luther Lucidity's thoughtful comments on Intelligent Design (SEE BELOW), which merely emphasize my point that it is an intellectually dishonest misappropriation of science, and a point that Judge Jones would be in complete agreement.).
There are other, more important - and intellectually sound - books available on the so-called "creation vs. evolution" controversy (Intelligent Design has been judged correctly as the latest flavor of creationism enjoying some popularity amongst fundamentalist Protestant Christians; one notable biologist has referred to it as "reborn creationism".), which I regard as more worthy than any of Dembski's self-serving defenses of Intelligent Design. Philosopher Robert Pennock's "Tower of Babel" is a splendid historical overview and philosophical deconstruction of creationism, including the best written rebuke of "Intelligent Design" which I've come across (He also covers Dembski's "explanatory filter", and demolishes it too from a philosophical perspective.). Philip Kitcher, another philosopher, published "Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism" back in the early 1980s, but his arguments are still quite valid today. My friend Ken Miller's "Finding Darwin's God" has an eloquent critique of Intelligent Design, focusing on Michael Behe's mousetrap model of irreducible complexity which claims to bestow validity on Intelligent Design. Distinguished American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) invertebrate paleobiologist Niles Eldredge offers yet another brilliant critique of Intelligent Design in his book "Darwin: Discovering the Tree of Life", the elegant companion volume to the AMNH Darwin exhibition which he curated, soon to embark on a tour taking it to many of North America's and Great Britain's finest science museums. And last, but not least, Eugenie Scott, Executive Director, National Center for Science Education (www.ncseweb.org), has written a fine textbook on this issue, "Evolution vs. Creationism". All of these books are more desirable than Dembski's "No Free Lunch". Otherwise, if you insist on purchasing this book, then perhaps you might choose to acquire instead a splendid text devoted to Klingon cosmology (Neither Klingon cosmology nor "Intelligent Design" can be regarded as scientific, since both depend on faith, not reason, to validate their principles.).
A Mathematical Proof of Intelligent Design.......2006-06-22
No Free Lunch, the sequel to mathematician and philosopher William Dembski's Cambridge University Press book The Design Inference, explores key questions about the origin of specified complexity. Dembski explains that the Darwinian search mechanism of random mutation coupled with natural selection is incapable of generating novel complex, specified information (CSI).
This observation translates into "No Free Lunch" (NFL) theorems, which Dembski explains are inherent constraints upon natural systems. Natural Darwinian mechanisms can shuffle this information around, but only intelligence can generate novel CSI. In other words, when it comes to generating truly novel biological complexity, Darwin can have no free lunch.
Some critics have asserted that he has never applied his model for detecting design to any real biological systems. The latter half of this book debunks this fallacious objection, and provides a detailed calculation of the CSI found in the bacterial flagellum. Dembski assesses the complexity of the flagellum on various levels, including its protein parts and its assembly instructions, finding that the amount of CSI contained in the flagellum vastly outweigh the probabilistic resources available in the history of the universe to construct such a structure, absent intelligent design.
No Free Lunch demonstrates that design theory shows great promise of providing insight in the field of evolutionary computation. If Dembski is right, then the ability of genetic algorithms to solve complex problems is a function of the amount of intelligent design inputted by their programmers.
ignore the naysayers.......2006-03-24
Ignore the one-star reviews. The unifying factor in all of them is an irrational hatred of Christianity, a misrepresentation of both Christian teachings and ID, and a reliance on ad hominem attacks. Really, now, I thought most people got beyond such name-calling by about, oh, the third grade.
Despite the bombast, no one has adequately answered either Behe or Dembski. I think the evolutionists would be embarrassed by now by their reliance on so many just-so stories to support an increasingly implausible theory.
Amazon.com
Mr. Lunch, the ingenuous canine protagonist of Free Lunch is a bird-chaser by trade. He relies heavily on birdseed provided by a company run by elephants. When it is taken over by an unscrupulous pachyderm, the dog and his friends are forced to find an alternative supply. As it turns out, they discover an unlimited supply of birdseed--for free--in the countryside, where it grows wild. Upset, the evil elephant has Mr. Lunch thrown in jail. Seibold and Walsh wield the story in a whimsical manner, depicting animals in all sorts of ridiculous situations. We hear Mr. Lunch has his own Web site (check out an interview with the author), and if you drop him some e-mail, he promises to respond directly. (Ages 3 to 8)
Customer Reviews:
Mr. Lunch's Wild Ride!.......2006-06-10
Just in case you're new to this whacked-out series, the San Francisco-based team of Seibold and Walsh open with a few relevant facts in a opening page right out of Disney's Toon Town, or Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland." (The page, like much of the book features about a dozen flat colors, optical effects, and a font called "arbitrary bold." Here's the opener:
MR. LUNCH WAS VERY GOOD AT CHASING BIRDS* IN FACT HE WAS A PROFESSIONAL* our story begins..."
And it never lets up. It's very much like a theme park ride, if the designer let go of most conventions, indulged in a sort of minimalist cubism/punk aesthetic (mixed with a little Dr. Seuss and some genetically-altered styrofoam), and had the free-wheeling command of a Jack Kerouac.
This artistic garbage (and I say that with affection) isn't easy, it only looks like it. It mixes so many artistic styles that it's like taking a computer-speeded one-minute tour of an entire modern art museum. The trick is that the pictorial and narrative elements are just familiar enough that kids and adults can follow it. I think it's humorous, unconventional, and energizing, but others will hate it. Know your kid.
Here's the plot, which is really kinda secondary. When he's not playfully chasing his bird friends, our hero, Mr. Lunch, sells birdseed. The seed supplier, however, is under new management; namely, an elephant who looks like the product of twisted evolution: He dresses like a poorly dressed cowboy, stands on two feet, and his trunk looks like one of those long Roman horns announcing that Spartacus has entered the building. When Mr. Lunch discovers that the new seed packets actually contain rocks, he and bird friends Ambrose and Gunhild investigate. However, the evil elephant manages to get Mr. Lunch arrested on a hastily constructed leash law, knowing that he'll languish in jail because the judge--a nocturnal owl-- will never be awake to hear his plea!
The story has a spellbinding cadence, mixing long and short sentences, and delivering offbeat lines a la Daniel Pinkwater: with a totally straight face. For example, when Ambrose asks a chef to hide a little something inside a cake to help Mr. Lunch escape, the squid-ish looking chef replies "no-no, that would be breaking the baker's code." Waiting for his rescue, Lunch gazes out of a single window and sees all sorts of cloudy shapes, including a bear holding a camcorder.
WARNING, SPOILER AHEAD: The birds sneak in an escape map, however, leading Mr. Lunch to a cave containing rubies and the FORMER elephant owner of the birdseed company. Our friends escape, the real elephant owner makes a hat out of a broken umbrella, the bad elephant is arrested (though he's pictured calling out "I'M SORRY!"), MR. Lunch returns to chasing his bird friends, and...
I found a fold-up piece of paper in the middle of the book, obviously written by a kid, that says the following:
"A Bookmark to know where you are in the book." (flip it over):
"I LOVE Reading!!!"
Now I could tell you that this book is goofy and smart, iconoclastic and clever--a twisty, pop art, five-flavored ice cream of a book--but I don't think anything I said could be a stronger endorsement than what that kid wrote and left for some other Mr. Lunch reader.
Story needs work.......2002-04-17
I love the illustration style - however, the story of this book is overly long and really not so interesting. My son won't stay by my side to listen to me read all the text in the book; I have to edit the book myself for him to be interested at all. I think the Seibolds' have produced better books (like the Olive stories, or the first Mr. Lunck book) and would reccommend those before FREE LUNCH.
A Very Funny Book.......2001-10-17
My nephew loves Mr. Lunch, and so do I. We were very distressed to see our hero victimized by the machinations of a very, very bad elephant in this installment. However, we know that Lunch will always prevail -- with a little help from Ambrose, of course.
Free Lunch.......2000-04-26
OK, so it may have great pictures and cute characters, but it is also a good story! Your kids will definitely love it...i did, and i am not even that young!
illustrations from the year 2058.......1998-12-15
Mr. Seibold and Ms. Walsh have that rare ability to create an entire new world, a completely foreign world that somehow you feel you're vaguely familiar with. The writing style is dead-on and tight -- never a wasted line, never a worthless word. And the illustrations are truly brilliant. And they're all done on Adobe Illustrator, which is astonishing to me, considering that mostly I associate that product with USA Today infographics . Mr. Lunch and all the other Seibold/Walsh books are gifts from some divine probably Japanese artistic entity, likely the same one who gave us Parappa the Rapper, toy robots, and Pizzicato Five.
Average customer rating:
- a checklist of Spider's favourite themes
- Calling Hollywood... Hello Hollywood?
- TANSTAAFL! Well...
- Trolling for trolls
- Dreams Worth Fighting For
|
The Free Lunch
Spider Robinson
Manufacturer: Tor Books
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Book Description
For more than twenty-five years, nobody has written SF quite like Spider Robinson. Since he first lit up the pages of Analog in the mid 1970s, his unique combination of surehanded storytelling, outrageous imagination, and Aquarian sensibility has captured the hearts and minds of readers. Now Robinson takes us where weve never been before a place where most of us would love to be: Dreamworld, a fabulous Disney-esque theme park where Mike, a teen runaway, has come to escape the troubled world outside. Mike figures hell lose himself behind the scenes and find a safe place to hide. But someone else got there first. She looks like a character, but shes Annie, who had Mikes idea firstthirteen years ago. Lucky for Mike, Annie likes him and helps him go under. But there are others, who look like trolls. Theyre not from here at all. Each day more of them come into the park from somewhereor somewhen Mike and Annie cant figure out and then they vanish.
Customer Reviews:
a checklist of Spider's favourite themes.......2006-05-30
I like Spider Robinson. But if you've read enough of his work, there are recurrent themes that you can't get away from: smart people don't get enough respect in our culture, smart kids get even less respect, shared pain is lessened and shared joy is increased, time travel probably isn't a good idea, Irish coffees are the best thing ever, Heinlein is nothing short of a god.
It's been awhile since I've read anything by Spider, but I have read it all. I keep on returning because he's got a good eye and a gift for storytelling (so long as it's along one of his themes), and I like his themes. So reading this book was like buying a new colour of my favourite sweater: nothing new, nothing groundbreaking, but the packaging is different enough that I feel like it's something new without having to break outside of my comfort zone.
Mike is a young kid whose homelife sucks, so he decides to break into his favourite theme park and live his life there. His favourite theme park is Dreamworld, which is what Disneyworld would be in a more perfect world than the one we inhabit. He successfully gets in, and is befriended by Annie. Annie has been living in Dreamworld since it opened.
Annie knows that something is fishy in Dreamworld. Every day, two more employees leave than clocked in at the beginning of the day. She and Mike set out to figure out the mystery, concerned that it's a plot by the bad guy who runs Dreamworld's competitor, Thrillworld. Concurrently, the bad guy who runs Thrillworld is also trying to figure out what's going on. Annie and Mike figure out the secret. The extras are actually time travellers. They corner some of the time travellers, and discover that they're from a future so bleak that they decided to go back in time to try to give their forebears their knowledge (including how to get a perfect roast from any coffee bean).
The culmination of the plot has Annie and Mike discovered in Dreamworld, so they must leave. The book is open to the sequel in which they infiltrate Thrillworld and get the bad guys to stop doing bad things.
Good book? Sure. If geeks went to the beach, this would be great beach reading. (As a geek myself, I feel pretty comfortable saying this!) Great book? No, it's not there. There's too many obvious nods to Heinlein. There's even too many obvious nods to Spider himself -- isn't it a bit arrogant to include Callahan's Bar as one of the best parts of Dreamworld? Even without those minor annoyances, it's ground that Spider has walked in the past. To be fair, it's more of a cohesive novel than some of his Callahan's books. This time, it doesn't feel like a set of short stories, as most of the Callahan's books do (and, in fact, some of them are just that).
If you're new to Spider, this isn't a bad book to start with, although I prefer some of his earlier non-Callahan's fiction. If you like Spider, then this will feel like your favourite sweater. If you think Spider's too repetitive, then this is a good one to skip.
Calling Hollywood... Hello Hollywood?.......2005-08-06
With the current dearth of decent plots in Hollywood -- whatever ELSE could explain the "Dukes of Hazzard" movie??? -- one wonders if any of Spider's excellent novels has been optioned.
And if not, WHY NOT?
This novel, like John Varley's "Red Thunder," just cries out for a screen adaptation. The plot is imaginative, the characters strong, the action is fun and there is some real boxoffice potential here as a light summertime action flick. I can see some great acting roles for Little People (without making them into Munchkins or Chocolate Factory elves). The lead actor role is a starmaking opportunity for SOMEONE.
Hello, Hollywood, is anybody listening???
TANSTAAFL! Well..........2005-07-12
Dreamworld is an amusement park in the near future. For more than a decade it has provide fantasy, happiness, and safety to all of its customers. Young Mike has decided he wants to live there in secret. He has set up an elaborate plan to get in and avoid security. But just as he is getting in he runs into Annie, a woman who did the same thing thirteen years earlier. Annie decides to take Mike under her wing and teach him what he needs to know to live "Under."
Soon after Mike's arrival, trouble begins. Outside competitors want to take the park and its reputation down. They make a discovery at the same time Annie does. There are more employees leaving the park each day than come in. Where are the extras coming from? The story then follows the three parties, Annie and Mike, the competitors, and the extras. We slowly learn what is going on and why and reach a conclusion that some may find a little short or weak but which really works with the rest of the book.
Spider Robinson has crafted a wonder place populated by countless references to popular and obscure works of fiction. The park is believable and that really helps the story along. Mike and Annie are wonderful characters and I would love to see a sequel in the future. This book is simply fun and delightful. Check it out.
Trolling for trolls.......2004-11-28
"The Free Lunch" is a cheerful amalgam of Heinlein plotlines, staunch characters spouting Heinleinisms, and even a few of his settings rolled in as amusement park attractions. This book must have been written for the fans of RAH's so-called juvenile science fiction, of which I am one. Old and decrepit though I may be, I can still quote whole paragraphs of "Have Spacesuit Will Travel" from memory.
As with all tributes, "The Free Lunch" falls a bit flat if you are expecting something signed, sealed, and proofread by the Master. This is an imitation of Heinlein from one of his talkier novels, with computers instead of slide rules, and the author never did quite convince me that I would want to actually live in his Dreamworld theme park.
So TANSTAAFL ("there ain't no such thing as a free lunch") as the Master once said. Get over it. Mike and Annie make "The Free Lunch" worth reading. Annie is a sort of human midget Mother Thing, only a bit rougher around the personality. Mike is a male Pee Wee ("I'd rather dance with the kitchen stool"), young and sort of sexless (except for an involuntary boner when he wakes up in Annie's hide-out under Dreamworld), and very, very smart. He and Annie, aka the Mother Elf band together to outwit the owner of a rival theme park, who wants to destroy Dreamworld. While keeping an eye on the bad guy's thugs and hiding from Dreamworld's employees, Annie notices that more trolls are leaving the park at quittin' time than showed up for work in the morning.
Are the extra trolls employed by the master thug? Are they aliens from outer space who have found a great place to beam down? What?
If you're tired of gore-and-guts Alien-Dreamcatcher-Matrix ripoffs, this book is a trip back to 1960s SF (with holographs and the occasional boner).
Dreams Worth Fighting For.......2003-07-30
Fairs and theme parks are an almost irresistible attraction to the young and the young at heart, places where the everyday cares of the world can be safely ignored for a while as you indulge in a little bit of fantasy and just plain fun. And just a little bit into the future, there may be a new theme park, one that draws on the images and ideas of fabulists such as Robert Heinlein, Barry Hughart, and yes, even the Beatles of Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields to create its attractions. For anyone with a smidgen of liking for the fantastic, for things which are a little bit beyond the current world, such a theme park might just be heaven.
For Mike, a twelve year old who has had to face cares and responsibilities that would try the best efforts of most adults, Dreamworld is more than a temporary haven. It's a place where he can live, sheltered from the world, and even hidden from park employees, helped by the other non-regulation denizen of this park, Annie, sometimes known as the Mother Elf. Ah, but there's something really strange happening in Dreamworld - at the end of the day shift, there are more employees leaving the park than arrived in the morning. And the arch-nemesis of this park, Alonzo Haines, proprietor of the competing park Thrillworld, would dearly love to find out who these `extras' are, as a lever to destroy Dreamworld. The battle to save the park is joined, and Mike and Annie find themselves in a fight to save not just their adopted home, but perhaps the entire universe.
Clearly, this is a fun book, written very much in the mold of some of Heinlein's juveniles, and echoes of The Mother Thing and the older Hazel Meade are clearly present in the character of Annie, while Mike evokes something of Kip and Thorby. Those who don't recognize those names will not be lost, as they are fully realized, engaging personalities, while for those who do these items provide a greater ambience and they will be treated to a great trip down memory lane. This is true also of the many references within this book to other authors and books - all of them are deserving of a read, but if you haven't read them, it won't detract from your enjoyment of this novel.
This being a Spider and not a Heinlein novel, there is a fair amount of Spider's specialty present, his penchant for puns and ironic humor, as evidenced most by some of the chapter titles like Out of Kin Troll. This adds a different flavor to this book, and those who like Spider's Callahan's Bar series will not be disappointed here. The plot itself is well developed, although there is nothing startling new or different here, and there are a few places where the action may give one a feeling that `this is just not a believable set of actions for a 12 year old', but in general this is a smooth read, with each new scene developing logically from the prior one.
Not a great book, but one where you can sit down for a few hours and just lose yourself in its nicely imagined world, and experience a nice adventure.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Book Description
Our politicians insist that we live in a time of unprecedented prosperity, yet more and more Americans are pointing out that the richest 1% of our society holds more wealth than the bottom 90% put together. In this timely book, economist Philippe Van Parijs has a simple plan for addressing not only poverty but other social ills: everyone would be paid a universal basic income (UBI) at a level sufficient for subsistence. Everyone, including "those who make no social contribution-who spend their mornings bickering with their partner, surf off Malibu in the afternoon, and smoke pot all night." Van Parijs argues that a UBI would reduce unemployment, improve women's lives, and prevent the environmental damage caused by overproduction and fast growth. At the heart of his proposal is the intention to secure real freedom for all, because it offers the greatest possible opportunity to those with the least opportunities. He acknowledges that an idle surfer might not deserve a UBI, but that the surfer's good luck would be no different than the good fortune enjoyed by those who benefit from the current distribution of resources. Responses to this controversial proposal vary: Some are in favor of a basic income, but only if it's tied to work. Others find the entire proposal unrealistic and unaffordable. Almost all agree, however, that it is time for us to talk about this issue.
Customer Reviews:
Thought provoking.......2003-02-07
Philippe Van Parij's deceptively simple but powerful proposal is to establish a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for all citizens of the U.S. Throughout the book's 130-odd pages, readers are challenged by Van Parij and 15 prominent respondents to critique the idea and to examine related core values and beliefs. The result is a book that has the rare virtue of being thought provoking; over time, it may prove to be widely influential as well.
What I found interesting is that the boldness of Van Parij's proposal succeeds in exposing the fact that much of what passes as conventional wisdom may be surprisingly vulnerable to radical critique. As the global economy continues to dramatically change labor's relationship to capital, it is clear that existing social welfare programs have been based on an imagined world that no longer exists. But while the neoliberal assault to dismantle the social safety net may not be just, it is widely acknowledged. Van Parij courageously demonstrates that change provides an opportunity for the Left to plausibly propose an agenda that moves in the opposite direction.
Ultimately, what at first glance might appear to be pie-in-the-sky thinking rapidly gains currency. On the whole, Van Parijs and his critics show that the UBI (or like policies) can provide a reasonable and humane solution for people adapting to life within today's hyper-competitive global market economy.
In short, I highly recommend this book for students or anyone else who may be interested in contemplating how a better society might come to pass.
Iým up for a free lunch.......2002-01-11
An essay by Philippe Van Parijs begins this book, in which he proposes that all citizens above the age of 16 be given a Universal Basic Income unconditionally. I must say that I've found this idea very fascinating for the past few years, but never thought seriously about it. The fifteen replies to Van Parijs' essay provide various perspectives on the political and economic feasibility of the plan, as well as on issues of justice and fairness.
The problem of this book lies in its very virtue of being a short, easy read that introduces the reader to what is considered a radical policy proposal. And this is that it doesn't provide much in the way of analysis beyond what one might read in a newspaper. Of course, there is a problem in being too academic: few people might read it, and the idea may not spread (though I doubt it will spread far anyway). Still, it's a fun concept to think about.
Badly needed.......2001-06-21
"What's Wrong With a Free Lunch" by Philippe Van Parijs proposes that every person be given an above-subsistence-level Universal Basic Income with no strings attached. The book includes responses from 15 thinkers, mostly sympathetic to the idea. A couple oppose the idea of letting anyone have anything for nothing (as if that were not already the case), and several suggest what they see as similar but better ideas. The majority of these are based on the idea that enacting a UBI in the United States is unlikely, not that it is undesirable.
This may be right, but even an unreasonable goal serves a very important purpose. Many of the right-wing ideas openly discussed in the media are, I dearly hope, unreasonable goals. But they serve the purpose of making somewhat-less-destructive ideas pass for "centrist." As long as the right wing proposes what it dreams of and the left wing proposes only what it thinks it can get in the foreseeable future, the "center" will be commonly placed further and further from what the left thought it could get. Van Parijis's book is exactly the sort of thing needed to break this defeatist pattern. We need to direct our energies to the achievable, yes, but we also have to dream -- or the achievable won't be.
I'm not convinced that some of the alternatives offered, such as a Negative Income Tax, are either more desirable or more feasible. And concentrating on how best to convince Americans to pay more income taxes is the wrong thing to be worried about.
Our first project should be to free up the tax dollars we are wasting. We should cut military spending, cut prison spending, cancel the wars on victimless crimes, cut highway spending, cut trash-removal spending, eliminate corporate welfare, tax pollution, tax the use of natural resources, tax corporations, tax the extremely rich, tax wealth, tax union busting, tax estates, eliminate the cap on payroll taxes, eliminate offshore banking, etc., etc. The idea that we need to devise a means of doing good that will most readily persuade a large segment of society to pay higher income taxes is hopelessly misguided. (And the idea that people won't want others to have free money while they "have to work for it" misses the whole point of the UBI: everybody gets it!)
What I find most attractive about a UBI is the hope that it would eliminate the most unattractive and lowest paying jobs. The response from certain parties will inevitably be that this will "hurt the very people it is intended to help," that certain people will be stuck with the UBI and nothing more because there are no jobs for them. But this same argument is made against raising minimum wages in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. A UBI would doubtless result in higher pay and better treatment for low-skilled workers, but it would also do something that a higher minimum wage does not: allow people to refuse fulltime work and pursue the acquisition of skills.
Here's an idea for a handout that does not stigmatize and actually boosts wages. Surely that's a more valuable trick than a "missile defense system" with a test record that would get it thrown out of the third grade.
Perfectly adequate.......2001-06-19
Having read _Real Freedom for All_, in which the author outlines his UBI proposal in detail, I purchased this volume in the hope of finding insightful commentary and sound criticism. Much to my chagrin, I was disappointed. While Edmund Phelps and Emma Rothschild had insightful essays, I didn't find very much in the way of dissent. Phelps certainly did disagree, but many of the others were just wailing like nettlesome grandmothers while conceding Van Parijs' point. Galston's essay left much to be desired, predictably enough. Couldn't they have asked a thoughtful critique on the Right? But again, this is certainly not awful. My favorite Boston Review forum remains Martha Nussbaum's _For Love of Country_, which did have a broad range of dissenting voices and is definitely worth checking out. If you are strictly interested in UBI or distributive justice, turn to _RFA_.
Customer Reviews:
A nice introduction; could have been juicier.......2006-08-06
I read this book almost simultaneously with my reading of "Hidden Order" and "Undercover Economist". I'll state my opinion on this book briefly:
1. This book tells you about the lives of Economists whose theories it talks about. This is good - since you learn much more than just the theories; you get to know much more about the Economists than just the theories they postulated.
2. The chapters progress from simple logic to not-so-simple theories. David Smith has written the text beautifully - it's nice to read and 'digest' this lunch.
3. One negative point - sometimes the storyline moves very slowly. There were many instances where I grew impatient with the reading and flipped pages to see where it all was leading to. The style could have been more concise.
Overall, I would rate this book a 4 out of 5. It's written in a lucid style, but probably won't appeal to everyone - particularly not to those who prefer fast readups.
Good, but there are better.......2005-11-18
This is a nice, straightforward introduction to macroeconomics, the history of economic thought, and British economic institutions such as the Bank of England. It's very well put together as a meal with different 'courses' and after-dinner speakers. Unfortunately it does contain a few outright mistakes (it's clear that Smith doesn't understand what 'utility' is, for instance) but this is a good book for someone who wants to read the Financial Times and understand it. For an introduction to economics I would prefer David Friedman's "Hidden Order" or Tim Harford's "Undercover Economist".
Book Description
Simplifers shopping, cut preparation time, and a perfect for the busy modern cook who loves good food but has less time to spend making it.
Customer Reviews:
Easy as Pie.......2005-08-10
The book itself is beautifully done- easy to follow recipes, clear how-to photos, and big photos of the finished dishes. It's fun just to look through the pages, even if you're not planning to cook that particular day. The recipes offer something for everyone- easy soups to desserts, chocolates to fruits, meats, fish, vegetarian. You can create fantastic dishes that look gourmet-complicated, and try new flavors without investing in a long list of weird ingredients. If you have the basics in your pantry, you'll be able to make nearly every dish. As for the desserts, keep a supply of heavy/double cream, as it seems to be one of the "3-4" ingredients in most dessert recipes. (Although, if you do have the cream, you'll be tempted to make a new dessert each night!)
I love to cook, and have shelves of cookbooks, but this has quickly become my favorite cookbook because the recipes are both simple and gorgeous. I got my copy on sale, but it's well worth buying at any price. Enjoy.
Average customer rating:
- Refreshing writing style, interesting story
- Good P.I. Yarn
|
No Free Lunch
C. J. Henderson
Manufacturer: Marietta Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1892669129 |
Book Description
When Carl Miller's fiance disappears he follows her trail to New York City, eventually finding himself in the office of Jack Hagee, Private Investigator. Taking the case against his better judgement, Hagee quickly finds himself in the center of a circle of blood with the corpses piling up fast, the police leaning on him and killers on his trail. It soon becomes all too obvious that Hagee's only chance is to find poor little runaway Mara Phillips before he ends up in the slaughter pit like every other man on her trail.
Customer Reviews:
Refreshing writing style, interesting story.......2006-09-12
How many times can you tell the age old "femme fatale uses everyone to get her way" story? One more time, apparently!
I purchased this book because of a short story that I read in a compilation called "100 Dastardly Little Detective Stories". In that compilation I was impressed with Henderson straight ahead and rough style in what turned out to be Chapter 1 of "No Free Lunch".
Well, it turned out that straight ahead style is good, but not good enough to make the book a page turner.
I forced my way through this book, but would consider other Henderson works just to see if I had a knee jerk reaction to this book.
Good P.I. Yarn.......2003-06-15
Resembling the tired-of-life, cynical Phillip Marlowe and the tough-mindedness of Mike Hammer, Jack Hagee travels about New York in search of a client's former fiancee. Some excellent action mingles with the outstanding descriptions of New York city. The only drawback is the focus on underground sex that fills the last quarter of the book. Other than that, a grade A mystery, best suited to be read on a rainy night.
Average customer rating:
|
Not A Free Lunch
Helen Schulman
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
United States
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
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P.S.
ASIN: 039456166X
Release Date: 1988-04-12 |
Customer Reviews:
Here comes the judge.......1999-07-14
Helen Schulman's collection, her first book is out of print and this is a shame. Her collection is both daring and fun and shows the keen mind and humor that she has carried along with her into later novels. It would be my hope that those who happen upon this book on amazon take the chance and try to order it. You will find rich, provocative fiction.
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