Calm down. Stop causing trouble. Have a cookie.
RWL #423
Greetings from The University of New Hampshire! If you’re on campus today, stop by Hewitt 331 for some ricotta cookies. They're like a little slice of heaven - delicate, cakey cookie with almond flavored icing.
Today is the last day of classes for me - classes officially end Monday and then we roll into finals, but I don’t have a Monday class, so I’m done today. I say this every semester, but it always catches me by surprise somehow, or leaves me with a sense of surprise, even though I am carefully watching the calendar. It’s the subjectivity of time. The end of the semester seems so far away in August, and suddenly here in November.
My links are a little grumpy today, but I think if there is a unifying theme, it is calm the heck down and stop trying to cause trouble. I’ll probably offend everyone. But there are a few fun things at the end if you stick with me. The guys at Hard Fork are really fun.
As usual, willing good for all of you!
**
Read
What: The Grumpy Economist, On Biden's Pardon
Why: I’m a fan of John Cochrane, The Grumpy Economist. As he points out, Biden is being appropriately condemned for pardoning his ne'er do well son, but I like his insight:
I have a different reaction: Biden should have also pardoned President Trump. And a fistful of Trump associates as well. He should have called for an end to escalating lawfare between the parties.
I don’t think Trump is fit to be president, but 70 million of my fellow Americans disagreed with me (maybe you, too) and thought he was more fit than Harris, which isn’t saying all that much, but it is something. The key to a successful liberal democracy (see Trump and the Crisis of Liberalism below) is that we agree to get along and limit ourselves.
Biden still has time to do this - and as awful of a human being as I think Trump is, and as unfit as I think he is to hold office after January 6th - he has been elected president again. We have to find a way to bring down the temperature. Biden completely failed to be the uniter he claimed he would be when he was running for president, but he has a few weeks left to do the right thing. Leadership is doing the right thing when it is hard. He’s taken care of his son, we’ll see if he takes care of the country.
**
What: Inc., Study: DEI Training Could Make Racial Tensions Worse
https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/study-dei-training-could-make-racial-tensions-worse/91024524
Why: The article makes the point that the acronym “DEI” has come to be associated with a particular approach to workplace diversity, specifically the “antiracism” approach championed by writers such as Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi. Another study now shows that the antiracism approach has harmful effects for people getting along: it encourages them to see racism where there is no evidence of racism. This is not effective for a pluralistic (multiracial, multiethnic, multi religions, etc.) society. There are better approaches to the valid goal of ensuring fair opportunity for all.
**
Watch
What: Martin Gutmann | TEDxBerlin, Why do we celebrate incompetent leaders? (16 min)
Why: Good leadership is boring - that’s the main thrust of this talk. I agree - I am actually planning a FITW post to that effect on governance. Good leaders keep a sense of calm and forward motion without a lot of hoopla and drama. A good leader is present, but mostly disappears into the background as the team feels empowered.
**
Listen
(I’m not sure why I never noticed this, but when you get my newsletter, the links to the podcasts are usually dead unless you open the web version, so I’m inserting a direct link now.)
**
What: The Foreign Affairs Interview, Trump and the Crisis of Liberalism (35 min)
Why: The guest is Francis Fukyama, my favorite political scientist. (what? Doesn’t everyone have a favorite political scientist?) Here’s a key passage that I think is the theme of Fukuyama’s analysis:
[L]iberal democracy is a political system with two separate parts. The democracy really has to do with accountability to populations through elections, hopefully free and fair elections. The liberal part has to do with constraints on the power of the state imposed by checks and balances and a constitution, and fundamentally by a rule of law that limits what the state can do to its own citizens as it tries to exercise power.
That’s a really key insight. Throughout history, democracies were regarded as rule by the mob. The liberal part puts constraints on the mob, which makes liberal democracy the end of history, as Fukuyama is famous for having said. (Not that history had ended, as his idea is often misunderstood.)
**
What: The Art of Manliness, Rich Mind vs. Poor Mind — A Psychologist’s Guide to Building Wealth (40 min)
Why: I enjoyed this podcast because I share the guest’s perspective on building wealth. There are beliefs about reality that make it more likely that some people will accumulate wealth while and some beliefs that will make it less likely that some people will accumulate wealth. There is also the whole “ Fortune is the arbiter of one-half of our actions” to contend with, but if you don’t believe in agency, you most likely won’t succeed. Other beliefs are relevant, too. Check it out!
**
What: Hard Fork, Hard Fork's 100 Most Iconic Technologies (87 min)
Why: I enjoy Hard Fork, but it’s a hot-topics chat format, so it usually doesn’t lend to sharing in RWL since it’s all over the place by design. This week was a little different because the hosts run down a completely unscientifically developed list of iconic technologies, such as calculators, the KitchenAid stand mixer, Facebook newsfeed, and more. Also includes the printing press, airplanes, antibiotics, etc. It’s generally a fun romp - but with some interesting trivia behind each innovation. This is a lot of fun wrapped around some actual facts.