Defining Dubya

An old friend, who considers herself a liberal, asked why I classified W as one. It really seemed batty to her although she could see that the “big spender” label would apply. My reply (somewhat edited):

He’s a liberal because he thinks he’s called on to reconstruct things to bring about a universal order in

More ...

A celebration of the life of the mind, A.D. 2006

Last weekend I attended commencement exercises at a very prestigious Northeastern liberal arts college distinguished by its selectiveness, its commitment to social progress, and its extraordinarily beautiful and lavishly funded campus. I was struck by the unity of view of all the speakers. Here’s the gist of what I heard:

  • The “scriptural reading” opening the
More ...

Why the classes and masses don’t like each other (another snippet)

The attitude of elite and populace toward each other sums up the situation today. Elites consider the people ignorant and bigoted, the people think their rulers pretentious, hypocritical and self-seeking. The reason for the dislike and suspicion is less personal qualities, with regard to which elite and populace may differ little, than social position and … More ...