June 28, 2007
Down With Values
Robin says,
Props to Ezra Klein for coming out swinging:
I have a confession to make: I am not a values voter. I do not want a foreign policy based upon "the idea that is America." I do not think we should be guided in all things by such glittering concepts as liberty, democracy, equality, justice, tolerance, humility, and faith.In fact, I'm fed up with values. Entirely. They've failed this country. As a lodestar, there is none worse.
His column is keyed to a new foreign policy book by Anne-Marie Slaughter. It's all about the responsible application of American values to world affairs; but Klein says:
The problem with Slaughter's vision, which I generally found myself in enthusiastic agreement with, is that the only one I trust to carry it out is, well, Slaughter. And possibly me.
Nice.
What Klein wants is foreign policy proposals that focus on material outcomes -- not moral origins. We've had enough of the latter lately.
What timing! I'm going to see Francis Fukuyama speak tonight. He's going to revisit and re-appraise his argument from The End of History and the Last Man -- parts of which formed some of the deepest framework for the neocon misadventure. Expect a full report.
Mutation State University
Robin says,
From the Dept. of Alma Mater Promotion:
In the corner of a laboratory at Michigan State University, one of the longest-running experiments in evolution is quietly unfolding. A dozen flasks of sugary broth swirl on a gently rocking table. Each is home to hundreds of millions of Escherichia coli, the common gut microbe. These 12 lines of bacteria have been reproducing since 1989, when the biologist Richard E. Lenski bred them from a single E. coli. "I originally thought it might go a couple thousand generations, but it's kept going and stayed interesting," Dr. Lenski said. He is up to 40,000 generations now, and counting.
In case you glossed over it: "...have been reproducing since 1989." That is, to be clear, an 18-year-old experiment. And counting!
The Very Definition of America
Robin says,
Albert Einstein, 1935, a letter to a childhood friend:
I have now set up home in this curious new world and am still brooding like an old hen on the same old scientific eggs, even if the bodily warmth which one needs for brooding has rather diminished over the years. What is so nice in this country is that the people don't sit so much on top of one another and, as a result, feel more comfortable with each other. So I sit here the whole summer in a quiet bay and sail in a little sailing boat as much as I want to.
From a collection of famous people's letters, soon to be auctioned off. I think Google should buy them and put them online (e.g.). Would be cool, quirky, philanthropic thing to do.
P.S. You know, I'd never realized until just now that "brooding" actually means sitting on eggs or baby birds. Changes my impression of the word somewhat.
June 27, 2007
Greenwich Office vs. Palo Alto Garage
Robin says,
Interesting pair of posts here.
In response to a student's question about the social value of a Wall Street career, economist Greg Mankiw argues replies that yes, investors make a big contribution to society by making the economy more efficient.
The comment thread that follows is insanely good. Very long, and very detailed, but worth a look. I thought this was the gem:
The "invisible hand" works great when it is forcing productive firms to be more efficient.However, some activities in our complex economy don't directly produce anything -- some portions of litigation, advertising, lobbying, and stock analysis simply shuffle existing production. In these cases, profit maximizing firms aren't automatically controlled by the invisible hand.
Prof Mankiw's student is correct in asking whether one more worker in those areas will really help grow the economic pie.
Economists can find positive externalities in any of these activities. Probably the first million hours of stock analysis (or litigation, or ...) provides an efficiency gain that justifies the deployment of those talented individuals. But that doesn't guarantee that the last million is a net positive.
The "deployment of talented individuals" angle is important. Over on his blog, Robert Reich also hits it (I feel like he must have read Mankiw's post, though he doesn't mention or link to it, so, uh, maybe not):
America is the greatest entrepreneurial nation in the world. But there are really two kinds of entrepreneurs here