Pampering oneself

• I've been reading Peter Vallentyne's essay on Maximizing Act Consequentialism--against the view....

Though I've not finished the essay, I can't resist commenting on the following line:

".. the most effective way of helping others typically involves occassionally pampering oneself."

While I've not finished the essay, this looks to be a largely (completely?) undefended claim. Elsewhere, it may get more attention. But, it's not obvious to me that the connection is well-established. You can treat yourself to a CD or a movie or whatever and never ever give a thought to those less fortunate than yourself..... Perhaps I should try to put it in the best light. The thought seems to be: My personal comfort allows me the room to think about others. That much I can see. (If I am cold and hungry, I won't think much about anything except that fact.) But whether Vallentyne's proposition is most often used to create the conditions of comfort necessary for genuine concern is another question, one about our societies and not about individual ethics. And, from that standpoint the claim becomes what is locally known as ALIBI-ISM....

obscenities--even if mundane ones

People in the little provincial capital of the provincial central european country go about their business as if people weren't dying needlessly in Lebanon

Whether this country is a democracy is, in my opinion, questionable. At any rate, one serious restriction to personal freedom is the ability of the police to stop any car at random....
a previous student who was a supreme court judge told me this was a violation of the local constitution.

At any rate, today in Vienna and London there will be protests against the war in Lebanon and against the American role.

Will there be silence in Bratislava?

The American tourists wandering the streets are silent.