Blackmail and Capitalism

A piece in The New Yorker this week analyzes the philosophical conundrum behind blackmail in light of the recent Letterman case.  The main argument, as stated by economist Walter Block, is:

…blackmail, like smoking, is “yucky” but should be legal. “He only threatened to be a gossip—maybe a screenwriter,” he said of Halderman. “Screenwriting and gossiping are legal. If it’s legal to do it, it should be legal to threaten to do it.”

As stated in the article, Marxists compared capitalism to blackmail in that everyone is trying to buy someone else off, trying to get someone to either perform some legal action or not perform that action.  If that action is, say prostitution, people feel - often inexplicably - that it is morally unjust to pay someone to prostitute him/herself.  I think it’s mostly the same with blackmail, there isn’t a real philosophical justification but more of just a moral disgust with the idea, especially when you think about applying the Golden Rule.

The Jaunt is back.

The author is moving back to Buenos Aires, Argentina, shortly, and therefore thought it fitting to re-launch The Jaunt in HI-FI for your viewing ears. In addition to an aesthetically mind-boggling interface, The Jaunt is now offering news updates, interesting articles, music babble, photography, and — of course — the terribly cliché flagship feature that is travel writing. Since we left off, this has happened:

• Almost nothing with regards to political or social progress under the Obama Administration (unfortunately)
• I traveled to Santiago, Valparaiso (Chile) and Mendoza (Argentina)
• I returned home in the beginning of August, worked in Harbor Springs, MI, and took the GRE
• I passed the Foreign Service Oral Assessment

The last part is the reason for my return to the South. I’ll be focusing on studying Spanish for a few months in hopes of increasing my chances of getting “called up” to Washington to start a career as a diplomat ASAP. Again, I will probably arrive in Buenos Aires with dirty clothes and dusty baggage, and again I will begin to build a life from scratch - which I’m invariably excited about.

Because I realize that if you are reading this at first, you are probably a friend or relative, and so I will do my best to give updates on what I’m doing - but I will be using this blog increasingly for what blogs are generally used for, writing what’s on my mind. Stay tuned.

Lastly, the first morsel in newsworthyness - Felony Franks’s.

Trabajo Time.

I am now an intern at WUBA - whatsupbuenosaires.com and Zizek Records. Check them out.

Both of these companies, owned and directed by Grant Dull (DJ El G), have a ton going on.  WUBA is the leading place to go in BsAs to find out whats going on artistically, culturally, musically and so on.  Zizek is a small, but surprisingly international, record label that is a launch pad for artists in the realm of electronic cumbia. This type of music has been gaining popularity to the point that the Zizek Tour went to Coachella, SXSW, and Roskilde Festival in Denmark among others.  Needless to say, I’m really excited to be working on both of these projects, especially writing the business plan for Zizek.

One of these days I’m going to put some pictures up.  For anyone who’s seen my computer, I’m sure they can understand the difficulties.  Luckily my gym training has proven effective in using my mouse, which doesn’t seem to register anything but the most forceful click possible.  It also regularly overheats despite the fact that my room is freezing and its winter here.  Planned obsolescence, I’m sure.