David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Well, biding your time wouldn't be as fun as diving head first into factional internecine war 030
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Find this depressing tbh. And ok, the public models can't write (good) philosophy papers on their own yet, but that's surely just a matter of time. Do we maintain phil/maths as distinctly human endeavors? Maybe that will work for a bit, but why keep it at it if the answer is right there? 000
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026... and they would not risk a system that undermined its achievement. It's important to note that he has a particular, political conception of the parties - so they are not pure utility maximizers. He also gives other arguments. There's a good discussion here: plato.stanford.edu/entries/orig...plato.stanford.edu Original Position > The Argument for the Difference Principle and the Four Stage Sequence (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) 010
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026He thinks that the least advantaged will come to feel resentful, as they think their wellbeing is being sacrificed for the better-off. Self-respect is one of the basic goods that the parties in the original position are concerned with realising... 110
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026The answer is that Rawls thinks that any other principle - such as a principle of restricted utility with a guaranteed social minimum - will undermine the sense of self-respect of the least advantaged. 100
Reposted by David RischelStephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Call me old-fashioned, but I just think that if you are announcing £10bn of spending, then if the Shadow Treasury team and the leader's office are doing their jobs properly, the leader should have clearer answers to these questions: 4940199
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I don't doubt that they could find some cuts somewhere. Not sure about the amounts. But apart from whether that is the morally right way to balance the books, don't you think that these cuts are going to show up in other places? In further disability claims, costs to the NHS, homelessness etc 000
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Sorry, but do you actually believe that they'd be able to make the kinds of welfare cuts we're talking about here? They were against means-testing winter fuel payments! 110
Reposted by David Rischellastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Also seems pretty clear that the actual thing the Green Party are debating now (rather than the more abstract "is zionism racist?" debate I was seeing on here) is antisemitic fwiw 3956
Reposted by David RischelElizabeth Taylor @elizabethtaylor47.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Oh god the 3rd amendment explicitly protecting Jewish members who attend synagogue has fallen. I’m absolutely heartbroken. 1113510
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Seems very debatable indeed. Everyone else would be freed from competing against one of the three best teams in the league for european spots. Seems like a pretty strong incentive to expel them. 010
Reposted by David RischelTomas Hirst @tomashirstecon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026One of the things I am most annoyed about is that Starmer didn’t take the opportunity of great vibes in 2024 to do a series of contingent policy commitments (we will raise taxes *only if* growth we hope for doesn’t turn up). Because it’s basically designed to address exogenous shocks that we’ve hit. 0154
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 18/09/2026The best paper on this is probably by Broome, both a philosopher and economist. So, while I share your reservations about the galaxy-brained EA stuff, I don't think we should entrench the social discount rate as some eternal absolute principle of morality and economics.onlinelibrary.wiley.comDiscounting the FutureClick on the article title to read more. 011
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 18/09/2026I think it is wrong to say that effective altruists do not understand the idea of the discount rate. It is correct to say that they argue against it. More generally, there is a significant philosophical literature informed by economics on this topic going back to Parfit and Cowen (1992).forum.effectivealtruism.orgAgainst the Social Discount Rate (Cowen & Parfit) - Weak refutationsI've been reading the paper Against the Social Discount Rate (1992) by Tyler Cowen and Derek Parfit for a related project. In the paper they present… 120
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 10/09/2026What students learn doing paid work during their studies they can surely learn in half a year when working full time. Unis should be focusing on developing students' deep critical/analytical skills that will make them better at whatever job they end up doing. 2/2 010
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 10/09/2026A further thought: Apart from the broader point that unis don't just exist to serve the labour market, I'm not at all convinced that this should be the value proposition from universities to employers/the government. 1/them.toRedirecting... 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 01/09/2026A paper of mine has just come out! The title is "Is Land Special?" and it's being published in Free & Equal: A Journal of Ethics and Public Affairs (@freeandequal.bsky.social). Comments/criticisms very welcome. Here is a link: freeandequaljournal.org/article/id/2...freeandequaljournal.orgIs land special?Recent theories of territorial justice, such as those of Avery Kolers, Margaret Moore, and Anna Stilz, are internalist accounts: they argue for distributive principles that are tailor-made for the dom... 000
Reposted by David RischelStephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 19/08/2026“Deluded” to think it is at the least, *possible* for a charismatic man to succeed in academia while telling tall tales and with questionable research without a helping hand from “EDI”. Can these people hear themselves? 3867478
Reposted by David RischelSimon Wren-Lewis @sjwrenlewis.bsky.social · 07/08/2026This week's post: Long term fiscal projections are a good antidote to politicians talking about tax cuts mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2026/08/long... If you can get past the hand wringing, the OBR's long term fiscal projections contain useful information that most politicians pretend isn't there.mainlymacro.blogspot.comLong term fiscal projections are a good antidote to politicians talking about tax cutsEvery July the OBR publishes fiscal projections looking fifty years ahead. Each year the headline is the same. The public finances are on... 32313
Reposted by David RischelSunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 06/08/2026This is a really inadequate Home Office statement in these circumstancds It empathises with this protest as expressing legitimate concerns, singles out violence against police, and simply fails to say "violence threatening asylum seekers, migrants & other minorities is shocking + wrong" 36824272
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 03/08/2026Leaving this to departments themselves to police obviously creates incentive issues. In some other countries (e.g., Denmark), there are independent boards that review charges of misconduct and fraud, and that seems like a good idea if it can be implemented right. 000
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 03/08/2026Good piece. It's quite obviously academic misconduct (and likely fraud), and it is deeply damaging to our entire profession that some are willing to defend it. Misconduct and fraud are not taken seriously enough by British unis, and we need to think about how to tackle this institutionally. 210
Reposted by David RischelNvidie @dervine7.bsky.social · 29/07/2026no Liam, true socialists must freed their minds from bourgeoisie concepts like "opportunity costs" 1452
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Like yeah, sometimes there's a bit of a bad cryptonormativity thing going on, but then most academic fields are flawed and have sometimes poor epistemic standards. And most economists seem pretty aware of the limitations of their field. Seems ok basically! 030
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 29/07/2026The movement on parts of the left to consider the entire field of non-heterodox economics an outgrowth of an evil neoliberal cult has in general not been a good thing.econo.is 160
Reposted by David RischelCharlotte Pickles @charliepickles.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Social care - the third rail of British politics Great to see Burnham acting on, rather than just talking about, the social care crisis But there is a real risk that the choices he makes could actually make things worse... 🧵 1115
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 29/07/2026I don't disagree with this, maybe should have made that clearer. It's the focus on manufacturing specifically I find problematic, i just don't think that's where the future of the UK economy lies. 040
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Center left politicians will jump at any opportunity to indulge their emotional attachment to the idea that real jobs involve building or moving stuff, and that jobs that don't are less secure or good or whatever despite all the evidence to the contrary. Seems important to root this out. 1313
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 27/07/2026There might be other reasons to oppose compulsory voting, but I personally find this argument compelling. Maybe others will too. 6/6 000
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Poor people have not been given equal opportunity for political influence. But compulsory voting can alleviate this problem. It can correct for how material inequalities bleed into political inequality in problematic ways. 5/ 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Even if we accept this (and I'm not totally sure we should, see: read.dukeupress.edu/the-philosop...), I don't think this is a reason to oppose compulsory voting, because failure to vote clearly intersects with many problematic inequalities. Poorer people vote less, because they are poor. 4/read.dukeupress.eduWhat Is the Point of Political Equality?Political egalitarians hold that there is a distinct ideal of political equality, which defines and justifies democracy. So what is political equality? The orthodox view says it is equality of opportu... 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 27/07/2026And so is something that we should do. One objection to this is that political equality is about equalizing the opportunity for political power; not the actual exercise of political power. And so, if people don't vote because they're apathetic, no skin of the nose of democracy. 3/ 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Nonvoters fail to exercise any political power, and so voters become the rulers of the lives of the nonvoters in a way that is objectionable (because inegalitarian). Making voting compulsory corrects for this problematic power imbalance between the voters and nonvoters. 2/ 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Here is a moral argument for compulsory voting that I think is powerful, initially stated too strongly for argumentative clarity (see the qualification below): Democracy is about political equality, and political equality is about equalizing political power 1/ 100
Reposted by David RischelStephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 27/07/2026That's around £35bn of commitments she has made now on the idea of nebulous cuts to spending. She opposed the means-testing of *winter fuel*!! 38011
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 24/06/2026Realising that I'm basically agreeing with your OP, sorry should learn to read. 000
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 24/06/2026Lots of leftists are miserabilists, but so are lots of right wing people! 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 24/06/2026I really have no idea about this, but is antiAC a specifically left-wing view? Feels very much like the mirror image of 'don't heat your house, put on a jumper', which is just your standard miserabilism (i.e., things shouldn't be too nice or too luxurious, just toughen up) 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 16/06/2026Possibly. But There are ways of informing oneself (possibly better ways) that doesn't involve access to social media (in the lead up to elections denmark we used to have lots of panel debates in high schools for example). Insofar as more 15s start reading the news, all the better! 000
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 15/06/2026but (b) 15s should not have access to social media bc it's a less important right and the criteria for exclusion are different from the criteria inclusion into the electorate. This all needs to be argued for of course, but I could see ways of doing that. 3/3 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 15/06/2026You might argue (a) voting age should be lowered to 16 bc 16s satisfy the criteria for inclusion into the electorate, and the denial of the right to vote for a competent person is a severe affront to their political equality 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 15/06/2026Hmm, no, I think you can coherently hold both positions. Here's an argument for it (which, to be clear, i'm not sure i agree with, but is coherent): 1/ 100
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 15/06/2026In complete agreement on the 16-17 curfew and especially on the point about infantilizing young people in the uk, but I'm not sure I understand why you think lowering the voting age to 16 entails a commitment to a no ban for under-16? 100
Reposted by David RischelSam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Everyone on X and elsewhere who called for a violent response should be charged with incitement. Everyone involved in the pogrom should be locked up with exemplary sentences. Govt should make it clear that will be the response in future anywhere else. Enough. 10556041589
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 31/05/2026Hmm, not sure all good nihilistic art clearly wants something better? Don't think Blood meridian has that same humanistic impulse but quite a good book as well ? 020
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 30/05/2026I guess my main thought was: If the UK wants something that works, better to look to the most similar system that works better rather than completely change the system to some other model. But then, I have no idea what those minor changes might be that the uk could easily implement lol 030
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 30/05/2026As a percentage of GDP, probably true, but not per capita, surely? Also worth noting that some things in Denmark are fully private (like dentistry and physiotherapy). 140
David Rischel @davidrischel.bsky.social · 30/05/2026Can I ask, maybe stupidly, why look to reorganize things completely instead of, for example, looking to Denmark, which has a pretty similar system to the UK (afaik), but better outcomes? (Also, seems like Denmark doesn't really have problems making health care better despite it being nationalised) 220
Reposted by David RischelToby Buckle @polphilpod.bsky.social · 28/05/2026we finally got a pro-trans opinion piece in the mainstream uk media (by @transsolidarity.bsky.social's alexandra parmar-yee) worth sharing www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comTrans people like me are facing segregation now. We need parliament to restore our rights | Alexandra Parmar-YeeHard-won, vital legal protections have been upended – ultimately our lawmakers must fix this, says director of Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, Alexandra Parmar-Yee 420858
