Tuesday
On sharing
I just used Google Reader's share feature for these three posts; I don't believe I've ever used it to suggest that other people read an entry before, but plan to start. Those three are all good reads in their own right, and I liked the way that O'Hare brought up a classic of academic literature (which I wasn't familiar with at all) but then didn't just use it as shorthand for the ideas in it, but actually explained them and their relevance. But even more so, I linked them because they reminded me of what blogs used to be like, back before the left- and right- blogging communities had so solidified and people engaged the arguments of the other side people they disagreed with about U.S. politics instead of, or in addition to, making snarky remarks and attributing stupidity/malice/bad faith or some combination of those to their opponents. Which I do too, in real life, and would do if I blogged, but I'm feeling nostalgic. And the debate I'm linking is intra-blog, rather than inter-blog, and not explicitly about a political issue under debate, which is a nice symbol of how things have changed.
One point of disagreement with O'Hare's second post, where he writes:
Back on the sort of unifying topic for this post, I suppose Jim Manzi v. Jon Chait and Paul Krugman (with a large supporting cast on each side) on growth rates and wealth in Europe compared to America was reasonably similar to the days I'm nostalgic for, so maybe I'm just complaining it's own sake.
Posted while I try to ignore Scott Brown's impending election and the attending chaos (doom?) it will bring for health care reform in the United States.
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One point of disagreement with O'Hare's second post, where he writes:
“White man’s burden” movies like the Indiana Jones series play this message out: the cookie-cutter plot is that a bunch of brown people are having a terrible time and can’t do anything about it until a white guy comes into town and saves them (I haven’t seen it, but have the impression Avatar follows this template).It's exceedingly strange to use the Indiana Jones series as your example of white man's burden movies, he accurately describes part of the plot of Temple of Doom, but nothing in Raiders or Last Crusade resembles that, and I don't think Crystal Skull does either, though I haven't seen it. I don't know enough to take a side in the debate on culture as a determinant of growth, but I'll be damned if I let a confused film reference by me.
Back on the sort of unifying topic for this post, I suppose Jim Manzi v. Jon Chait and Paul Krugman (with a large supporting cast on each side) on growth rates and wealth in Europe compared to America was reasonably similar to the days I'm nostalgic for, so maybe I'm just complaining it's own sake.
Posted while I try to ignore Scott Brown's impending election and the attending chaos (doom?) it will bring for health care reform in the United States.
