Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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The First Amendment Gone Wild: Big Pharma’s “Right” to Find Out What Doctors Are Prescribing
The founders of the United States took the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the concepts of free speech and freedom of conscience very seriously. “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech,” said Benjamin Franklin. “Information is the currency of democracy,” intoned Thomas Jefferson —…
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Victories in 2007
It’s easy enough to recount what went wrong in 2007. But it wasn’t all bad. Not only did grassroots movements and citizen campaigns — and sometimes governments responsive to public demands — defeat and resist countless corporate power grabs, they won some vitally important, affirmative victories. Like every new year, 2008 offers renewed hope, and…
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The Story of Stuff
Right now, representatives of the governments of the world are meeting in Bali, Indonesia, to negotiate international agreements to forestall climate change. Necessarily, these negotiations will revolve around technical, arcane matters. What targets should be set for reduced greenhouse gas emissions? Which countries should adhere to which targets? Should there be emissions rights trading, and…
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