Can foreign intervention lead to peaceful solutions?

Despite potential good intentions, interventionist policies are often viewed by classical liberals as violations of individual freedoms.

  • Intervention covers a range of activity broader than just war. Some interventions have more humanitarian aims, such as disaster relief and development aid.
  • Oftentimes, the drive behind many instances of intervention involves some form of political, economic, or social outcome.
  • There are important questions to consider regarding knowledge, goals, incentives, and unintended consequences. The answers to these indicate whether an intervention is necessary and appropriate.
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Predicting the president: Two ways election forecasts are misunderstood

Everyone wants to predict who will win the 2020 presidential election. Here are 2 misconceptions to bust so people don't proclaim the death of data like they did in 2016.

Map via Wikimedia Commons
  • There are two common misconceptions that muddy people's understanding of election forecasting, says Eric Siegel: Blaming the prognosticator and predicting candidates versus predicting voters.
  • In 2016, Nate Silver's forecast put about 70% odds on Clinton winning. Despite people's shock at the election results, that forecast was not wrong.
  • As predictions for the 2020 presidential election ramp up, it's important to understand what election forecasting means and to bust the misconceptions that warp our expectations.
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You can use data to boost your career. Here’s how.

Striking a better work-life balance comes down to the numbers.

  • One universal concern for employers and employees across all industries is work-life balance. Thanks to data from large tech companies, we've seen the negative impact that skewed dynamics can have on one's career.
  • Neil Irwin, senior economic correspondent at The New York Times, believes that data can turn employees into their own career coaches and ultimately help them succeed in the workplace.
  • Data is important, but "data alone isn't insight," Irwin says. The key is to learn how to interpret the numbers and use that information logically.
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People who watch more TV find thinner women more attractive, even in remote Nicaraguan communities

These people had no access to magazines and, generally, no access to the internet.

INTI OCON/AFP via Getty Images

What makes for an attractive female body? Whatever your views on this, across cultures, and socioeconomic groups in particular, there are some differences in opinion.

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When can government restrict speech? | Classical Liberalism

When it comes to individual freedom of expression, the power of external authorities must be limited.

  • Freedom of expression, in the context of classical liberal political philosophy, is a universally accepted standard that limits how government can censor speech. This speech includes what we say and write, as well as what we consume.
  • Former ACLU president, Nadine Strossen says false assumptions about free speech emerge at both ends of the spectrum: Many wrongly assume free speech is absolute, while many others wrongly assume certain types of speech (pornography, for example) receive no protection.
  • When speech poses an imminent danger of violence, this is the only case in which it can be restricted by a governmental body.
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