Michelle Minton on Your Freedom to Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
Radio Interview: 13 February 2013
I interviewed Michelle Minton on "Your Freedom to Eat, Drink, and Be Merry" on 13 February 2013. Listen to or download this episode of Philosophy in Action Radio below.
The government heavily regulates food and drinks commonly regarded as dangerous or unhealthy. What motivates such regulations? Why are they so widespread? How can they be fought?
Michelle Minton is the Fellow in Consumer Policy Studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The issues she manages include food policy, FDA regulation of non-pharmaceuticals, alcohol regulation, and the online gambling industry. Her work has been published and cited by nationally respected news outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, prominent magazines, and scholarly journals.
Tags: Activism, Alcohol/Drugs, Free Society, Government, Health, Integrity, Law, Nutrition, Politics, Regulations, Rights, Science
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- Duration: 58:26
- Download: MP3 File (20.1 MB)
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About the Podcast
- The most common regulations and laws pertaining to food and drinks
- Colorado's laws about grocery versus liquor stores
- Federal versus state versus local regulations
- The true purpose of these laws and regulations
- The goal of Michelle's advocacy
- Why we have more regulations today
- Conservative "solutions"
- Bad studies and sloppy journalism: the phony case against the egg
- The accusations against Four Loko
- Future trends, including appeals to children
- The three-tier system of alcohol distribution
- Bootleggers and Baptists
- Not being in the pocket of "big business"
- Advocating for freedom in this area
- Economic versus moral arguments for freedom
- Effective arguments
- Maintaining integrity in public policy work
- Whether to support or oppose mixed proposals
- How to support Michelle's work
Relevant Links
- Michelle Minton's work at CEI
- The Wages of Sin Taxes by Christopher Snowdon and Michelle Minton (PDF)
- Bootleggers and Baptists-The Education of a Regulatory Economist by Bruce Yandle
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I'm Dr. Diana Brickell (formerly Diana Hsieh). I'm a philosopher, and I've long specialized in the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. I completed my Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. I retired from work as a public intellectual in 2015.
From September 2009 to September 2015, I produced a radio show and podcast, Philosophy in Action Radio. In the primary show, my co-host Greg Perkins and I answered questions applying rational principles to the challenges of real life. We broadcast live over the internet on Sunday mornings.
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My first book, Responsibility & Luck: A Defense of Praise and Blame, can be purchased in paperback and Kindle. The book defends the justice of moral praise and blame of persons using an Aristotelian theory of moral responsibility, thereby refuting Thomas Nagel's "problem of moral luck." My second book (and online course), Explore Atlas Shrugged, is a fantastic resource for anyone wishing to study Ayn Rand's epic novel in depth.
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