Econ 1017 Section Readings PDF

Social Media Can Democracy Survive? - Eric Rosenbach and Katherine Mansted - Countries like China and Russia use information tech to exploit democratic weakness and influence global politics - AI is increasing the scale of this - Whole of nation strategy: democracies, especiall...

Social Media Can Democracy Survive? - Eric Rosenbach and Katherine Mansted - Countries like China and Russia use information tech to exploit democratic weakness and influence global politics - AI is increasing the scale of this - Whole of nation strategy: democracies, especially the US, must adopt strategy involving govt, private sector, and civil society to counter these information threats - Improving transparency, regulating social media algorithms TikTok Panic Threatens Speech - Will Duffield - Tiktok’s ownership raised concerns about security - A ban with would be poor for free speech and invite similar actions against other social media - Restricting govt employees or regulating data collections could be more effective - Tik Tok ban effective January 2025 - Libertarians believe its all up to user discretion: Apps don’t have to disclose their algorithms or data collecting policies Establishment Clause/Religion Establishment Clause - 1st amendment, govt cannot instill or favor a religion Discussion Questions The Text of the First Amendment a. What does the First Amendment say about religion? - Exercise to free religion and cannot establish a religion b. What is the libertarian reading of these clauses? _____________________________________________________________________________________ There’s No Juice Left in Lemon - by Ilya Shapiro - Core issue w/ Lemon v. Kurtzman is that it violates individual liberty (gave state financial aid to church-related educational institutions) - Lemon test - Secular purpose, no promotion or inhibition of religion, no excessive entanglement between church and state - Test distorts original meaning of Establishment Clause, which was designed to protect freedom of conscience - Libertarian approach: non-coercion: as long as religious practices/symbols don’t compel individuals to believe/act against their will, they do not constitute a violation - Free exercise of religion: fundamental aspect of individual liberty, and state’s role should be to prevent coercion Discussion Questions i. What were the three prongs of the Lemon test? - Secular purpose, no advancement or inhibition of religion, no excessive entanglement between church and state ii. What are some of the issues with these prongs? _____________________________________________________________________________________ In Allowing Coach to Pray, Supreme Court Says First Amendment Doesn’t Contradict Itself - Thomas Jipping - Kennedy vs Bremerton: (2022) - Supreme Court ruled in favor individual liberty and religious expression after Coach Kennedy’s silent prayer after games - His prayer was voluntary and non-coercive (libertarian principles) - School’s ban on prayer was seen as govt overreach - Rejection of lemon test: Court moved away from Lemon test, which encouraged government interference in religion - Decision focused on original meaning of Establishment Clause Discussion Questions a. Does a football coach praying on the field after a game violate the Establishment Clause? - No b. In abandoning the Lemon test, what did the Supreme Court replace it with? - “Historical practices and understandings” _____________________________________________________________________________________ Stone v. Graham - Kentucky Law posted 10 commandments in public schools, Supreme Court ruled that it violated Establishment Clause bc it had no secular purpose - Libertarian perspective: Government endorsement of religion is the issue. Even if it was paid for by private contributions, state’s involvement was deemed unconstitutional Discussion Questions i. In applying the Lemon test, what did the majority state? ii. What did Justice Rehnquist argue in his dissenting opinion? _____________________________________________________________________________________ Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Commandment Is Classic Public Schooling, LA Gator Is, but Almost Wasn’t, the Solution - Neal McCluskey - Louisiana passed a law mandating the posting of 10 commandments in public schools - Root problem is: public schools trying to serve everyone’s values, which creates constant conflict - Libertarian approach: funding students, not schools - Governor Landry signed LA Gator Scholarship Program, which creates Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for all Louisianans - Solution: School choice programs like LA GATOR, where families can select schools that align with their beliefs Discussion Questions i. Does this law violate the Establishment Clause? ii. What would a libertarian argue? - Libertarians want neutrality towards religion from government - Supreme Court has moved away from Lemon test and adopted a “historical practices and understandings” approach - The more govt is involved in areas such as education, the more conflicts and tough calls there will be ________________________________________________________________________________ Assisted Suicide 1. What is the United States current laws surrounding assisted suicide? How do these differ by State? In what countries is Assisted Suicide currently legal? - What does the system look like there? Privatized? Government led AS is legal in California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Maine, NJ, Hawaii, DoC - Federal govt leaves this law up to states - Each state requires