4 ms·

I'm probably the biggest libertarian you'd meet (that doesn't live in his or her mom's basement) and I feel like HN is pretty friendly to my thinking.

bendotc 15y ago
I agree. And I have no problem with people having their opinions. I know it feels like my own beliefs are in the minority here, and I don't have a problem with that, but Hacker News is always a better site when it sticks to what it's best at: hacking, technology and entrepreneurship. The politics and religion discussions here are always huge distractions.
davidw 15y ago
Maybe he means the guidelines: "off-topic: most articles about politics". Anything from Cato is going to be politics.
- thisuser 15y ago
  Everything is politics. But reactionary free-market worship is too simplistic to be allowed here. Cato only exists because advocating private ownership of profit turns out to be profitable, not because they have any insightful analysis.
  - maxharris 15y ago
    too simplistic to be allowed here. Allowed by whom? Cato only exists because advocating private ownership of profit turns out to be profitable And this is somehow not simplistic?
    - thisuser 15y ago
      Allowed by the commenting community. There's a difference between simple and simplistic. Simplistic is pretending the only incentive force at work in a national scale institution is the profit incentive. Simple is acknowledging that a small institution with the mission statement to advocate for profit incentive as the singular organizing principle of our economy probably believes in its mission statement and operates for the purpose of the private profit of its owners. I've seen a few _interesting_ notes from CATO, but nothing I would call subtle or anything but free market fundamentalism. They tend to pick up every single news story and view it through a free market, shrink govt, give an individual the profit lens. Which is why they can only write a short, generic paragraph of comment on an interesting story about Khan Academy. OP should have been a link to Wired.
  - gdfsnob 15y ago
    I think you might be experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect. The CATO Institute has 10 Nobel Laureates in Economics associated with it. http://www.cato.org/people/nobel-index.html http://www.cato.org/people/nobel-index.html
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - thisuser 15y ago
      I have serious problems with the policies that CATO advocates. I expect them to explain and justify their policies, not appeal to a committee of Norwegians for authority. I expect the same of you.
- Alex3917 15y ago
  How is any article about public schooling not going to be about politics? The public school system is inherently political by definition.
  - davidw 15y ago
    That's why it should should be flagged, killed, and left for other sites to debate.
    - hugh3 15y ago
      But the question "What's the best way to teach children?" is very relevant, so I'm inclined to allow it even if it does meander into political questions on occasion.

bendotc 15y ago

I agree. And I have no problem with people having their opinions. I know it feels like my own beliefs are in the minority here, and I don't have a problem with that, but Hacker News is always a better site when it sticks to what it's best at: hacking, technology and entrepreneurship. The politics and religion discussions here are always huge distractions.

davidw 15y ago

Maybe he means the guidelines: "off-topic: most articles about politics". Anything from Cato is going to be politics.

thisuser 15y ago
Everything is politics. But reactionary free-market worship is too simplistic to be allowed here. Cato only exists because advocating private ownership of profit turns out to be profitable, not because they have any insightful analysis.
- maxharris 15y ago
  too simplistic to be allowed here. Allowed by whom? Cato only exists because advocating private ownership of profit turns out to be profitable And this is somehow not simplistic?
  - thisuser 15y ago
    Allowed by the commenting community. There's a difference between simple and simplistic. Simplistic is pretending the only incentive force at work in a national scale institution is the profit incentive. Simple is acknowledging that a small institution with the mission statement to advocate for profit incentive as the singular organizing principle of our economy probably believes in its mission statement and operates for the purpose of the private profit of its owners. I've seen a few _interesting_ notes from CATO, but nothing I would call subtle or anything but free market fundamentalism. They tend to pick up every single news story and view it through a free market, shrink govt, give an individual the profit lens. Which is why they can only write a short, generic paragraph of comment on an interesting story about Khan Academy. OP should have been a link to Wired.
- gdfsnob 15y ago
  I think you might be experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect. The CATO Institute has 10 Nobel Laureates in Economics associated with it. http://www.cato.org/people/nobel-index.html http://www.cato.org/people/nobel-index.html
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - thisuser 15y ago
    I have serious problems with the policies that CATO advocates. I expect them to explain and justify their policies, not appeal to a committee of Norwegians for authority. I expect the same of you.
Alex3917 15y ago
How is any article about public schooling not going to be about politics? The public school system is inherently political by definition.
- davidw 15y ago
  That's why it should should be flagged, killed, and left for other sites to debate.
  - hugh3 15y ago
    But the question "What's the best way to teach children?" is very relevant, so I'm inclined to allow it even if it does meander into political questions on occasion.