How Does Justice Relate to Economic Welfare? A Case Against Austro-Libertarian Welfare Economics

This paper argues—contra some Austro-libertarians—that whether a given exchange is welfare-enhancing or welfare-diminishing does not depend on whether that exchange is just or unjust, respectively. Rather, we suggest that in light of our two thought experiments, Austro-libertarianism has at least a pro tanto reason to conceive of justice and welfare as two logically distinct ideals. This would in turn, most interestingly, predict the possibility of (a) just but welfare-diminishing exchanges and (b) unjust but welfare-enhancing ones. Upon considering possible rejoinders to our points, we suggest that Austro-libertarians abandon a justice-based notion of welfare

How Does Justice Relate to Economic Welfare? A Case Against Austro-Libertarian Welfare Economics

This research was funded in whole or in part by the National Science Centre, Poland, grant number 2020/39/B/HS5/00610. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC-BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) version arising from this submission.This paper argues—contra some Austro-libertarians—that whether a given exchange is welfare-enhancing or welfare-diminishing does not depend on whether that exchange is just or unjust, respectively. Rather, we suggest that in light of our two thought experiments, Austro-libertar- ianism has at least a pro tanto reason to conceive of justice and welfare as two logically distinct ideals. This would in turn, most interestingly, predict the possibility of (a) just but welfare-diminishing exchanges and (b) unjust but welfare-enhancing ones. Upon considering possible re- joinders to our points, we suggest that Austro-libertarians abandon a justice-based notion of welfare

Libertarianism, Defense of Property, and Absolute Rights

This research was funded in whole or in part by the National Science Center, Poland, grant number 2020/39/B/HS5/00610. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC-BY public copyright license to any Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) version arising from this submissionThe present paper argues that libertarians (e.g. Murray Rothbard, Stephan Kinsella) who subscribe to the proportionality principle while embracing the view that to have a right to property is to have a right to defend it run into what we call the Property Defense Dilemma. For if the only way to defend property is to defend it disproportionately, then a private property right – contrary to what these think- ers claim – is not accompanied by a right to defend it. The most plausible way out of the dilemma – the present paper argues – is to conceive of private property rights as only weakly absolute, to use Matthew H. Kramer’s illuminating distinc- tion. On the other hand, libertarians who, like Walter Block, would like to escape the dilemma by replacing the proportionality standard with the gentleness principle run into other sorts of problems (moral implausibility, incoherence), which also shows that it is the libertarian view on rights as infinitely stringent side constraints that calls for revision and attenuation

Dialogical Estoppel, Erga Omnes Rights, and the Libertarian Theory of Punishment and Self-Defense

This research was funded in whole or in part by the National Science Centre, Poland, grant no. 2020/39/B/HS5/00610. For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a CC-BY public copyright license to any author accepted manuscript version arising from this submission.The present paper seeks to address the question of whether Stephan Kinsella’s theory of dialogical estoppel justifies punishment only when it is meted out by the victim and his agents or also when it is exacted by the third party. Analogously, the paper investigates the scope of the defensive and punitive force: Is the legitimate use of such force limited only to the victim and his agents, or does it also extend to third parties? This paper contends, following Uwe Steinhoff’s “Look who’s talking” argument, that the offender is estopped in his opposition against the punitive and defensive force not only vis-à-vis the victim and his agents but also vis-à-vis third parties. Since this fact entails—in accordance with the very logic of estoppel—that the offender has forfeited his rights not only in personam (vis-à-vis the victim) but also erga omnes (vis-à-vis third parties), then it also follows that the punitive and defensive force may be inflicted upon him by anybody. These findings might have interesting ramifications for the libertarian theory of punishment and self-defense

Strikingly high activity of metronomic chemotherapy in a patient with locally advanced, life-threatening cutaneous squamous-cell cancer — case report and discussion of the literature

The current treatment of choice in patients with advanced or metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin is immunotherapy based on anti-PD1/L1 antibodies. For many years, there has been a consensus, that SCC of the skin is a chemorefractory neoplasm. However, despite a recent approval of checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of cutaneous SCC, their extremely high cost makes them unavailable for many patients worldwide, and additionally, in many patients, their use may be contraindicated by patients’ clinical conditions. This article provides strong arguments that optimized and well-matched chemotherapy still represents an active treatment option even in the era of novel therapies

Miejsce chemioterapii w leczeniu chorych na zaawansowanego lub nawrotowego raka ślinianki

Since malignant tumors of salivary glands are heterogeneous and rare it is hardly possible to conduct randomizedclinical trials devoted to these malignancies. Therefore clinical data available in the literature come almost solelyfrom small retrospective clinical studies or case reports. Among several malignant tumors of salivary gland theadenoid cystic carcinoma is most frequently described and discussed in the literature. There are no formal recommendationsissued by oncologic societies on the systemic treatment of patients with advanced/metastaticsalivary gland malignancies. This article is aimed to summarize available data on systemic treatment of patientswith malignant salivary gland tumors with special interest in clinical efficacy of various chemotherapy regimensin particular tumor types.Duża różnorodność typów raków ślinianek oraz mała częstotliwość ich występowania utrudnia przeprowadzeniebadań klinicznych. W piśmiennictwie znajdujemy najczęściej retrospektywne opisy przypadków, nie prospektywnebadania kliniczne. Rak gruczołowo-torbielowaty jest typem histologicznym, który z tej rzadkiej grupy nowotworówwystępuje najczęściej w badanych populacjach.Do tej pory nie ustalono optymalnego schematu chemioterapii w przypadku miejscowo zaawansowanej/przerzutowejchoroby, która mogłaby wpłynąć na zmniejszenie objawów. Podejmowano próby zastosowania mono- i polichemioterapii.Potrzebna jest weryfikacja schematów leczenia, która pozwoliłaby określić najbardziej aktywne lekizarówno w przypadku raka gruczołowo-torbielowatego, jak i pozostałych typach histologicznych raków ślinianek

Aortic pseudoaneurysm in a patient after Bentall de Bono surgery

Pseudoaneurysm is an aneurysm arising as a result of rupture with all layers of the artery wall. It differs from the true aneurysm in the wall structure, aetiology, complications and indications for invasive treatment. Postoperative pseudoaneurysms of the thoracic aorta are rare complications, but extremely dangerous and life-threatening. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind crucial factors that can lead to its appearance. The method of treatment depends on localization with median sternotomy in the surgical approach to a pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta. Most frequently surgeons excise the aneurysm and sew appropriate prosthesis in the place of the excision. As a result, the Bentall de Bono procedure is widely used, when the aortic root replacement is required. This study presents a case of a 59-year-old man with a huge pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta 3.5 months after the Bentall de Bono operation. The patient’s treatment included resternotomy with the use of a similar technique once again. EuroScore II was high and amounted to 21.94%. Additionally, hypothermia was used to increase the effectiveness of the procedure, i.e. to minimalize blood loss, protect the central nervous system from the risk of ischaemia and facilitate the patient’s recovery. Pseudoaneurysm can develop for years without any symptoms, and its rupture can be fatal. Finally, detection and removal of the lesion at the beginning of its formation has a positive impact on the patient’s prognosis

The outcomes of Polish patients with advanced BRAFpositive melanoma treated with vemurafenib in a safety clinical trial

Aim of the study: The BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib has improved progression- free survival and overall survival in patients with BRAFV600-mutationpositive metastatic melanoma. Here we present the results of an open-label safety study with vemurafenib in patients with metastatic melanoma enrolled in Polish oncological centres. Material and methods: Patients with untreated or previously treated Stage IIIC/IV BRAFV600 mutation-positive melanoma were treated with oral vemurafenib in an initial dose of 960 mg twice daily. Assessments for safety and efficacy were made every 28 days. For the survival analysis the Kaplan-Meier estimator was used with the log-rank tests for bivariate comparisons. Results: In total, 75 Polish patients were enrolled in the safety study across four centres. At data cut-off, 28 patients died (37%), mainly (26) due to disease progression; 33 (44%) patients continued vemurafenib after disease progression. The objective response rate was 46%, including two patients with a complete response and 29 with a partial response. Median progression-free survival was 7.4 months. The one-year overall survival rate was 61.9% (median overall survival was not reached). Seventy-three (97.3%) patients reported adverse events (AEs), and grade 3–5 toxicity was reported in 49.4% (37) patients. The most common AEs were: skin lesions (including rash and photosensitivity), arthralgia, and fatigue. Conclusions: The overall safety profile and response rate of vemurafenib were comparable to those reported in previous studies of this drug. Our study confirmed the value of well-established prognostic features for overall survival, such as initial LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) level and AJCC staging