Who killed the American Dream? David Leonhardt, a senior writer at The New York Times, picks up his magnifying glass and investigates in Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. Note the past tense in the title. In order to find the culprit, we must first learn about the deceased. What was the American Dream? As Leonhardt notes, while the range of definitions is vast, at its root, the American dream is about progress. In particular, he zeroes in on a “core part” of the … [Read more...] about Whither the American Dream?
Modern Society
Stuck in the Middle With You
In 1944, Friedrich Hayek wrote in “Why the Worst Get on Top” in his The Road to Serfdom:It seems to be almost a law of human nature that it is easier for people to agree on a negative program—on the hatred of an enemy, on the envy of those better off—than on any positive task. The contrast between “we” and “they,” the common fight against those outside the group, seems to be an essential ingredient in any creed which will solidly knit together a group for common action. It is consequently always … [Read more...] about Stuck in the Middle With You
Greatest Economist of All Time
GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of All Time and Why Does it Matter? Even if you have never thought about that question before, now you want to know the answer. Indeed, you may even be set to argue that the given answer is wrong. The GOAT question is the greatest bar argument of all time. Who is the GOAT shortstop? Rock vocalist? American novelist? Greek philosopher?…pick the category, and a lively debate ensues. But, the GOAT economist? You probably have not had that debate. Until now. … [Read more...] about Greatest Economist of All Time
The Coming Crack-Up of the Left
There is a specter haunting America, but it is no longer Marxism. Widely dubbed “Woke,” this ideology “is likely to make us stray from, not guide us toward, the kind of society to which we all have reason to aspire.” It is “likely to create a society composed of warring tribes rather than cooperating compatriots.” It is a “trap,” on both political and personal levels. The most striking thing about those quotations from The Identity Trap: A Story of Power and Ideas in Our Time is the author. … [Read more...] about The Coming Crack-Up of the Left
Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu
If you are looking for a gift for a baseball fan in your life, look no further.Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu, by John Updike. It was originally an essay in The New Yorker, but the Library of America has republished it in a beautiful little volume, complete with the footnotes Updike later added and an essay he later wrote. The topic? Updike went to the last game Ted Williams ever played. What emerged was this beautiful paean to everything that is beautiful about baseball. I cannot even hope to … [Read more...] about Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu
Should We Still Require Shakespeare?
“‘A department of English,’ he said, ‘cannot exist without requiring, for its majors, at least one semester-long course in the study of Shakespeare. To require any less would be irresponsible; it is a dumbing down.’”That quotation is from The Shakespeare Requirement, Julia Schumacher’s novel about the lives of college professors. This is Schumacher’s second novel in a trilogy; one of my former students gave me a copy of it. In one of life’s odd coincidences, another student once gave me the … [Read more...] about Should We Still Require Shakespeare?