The Classical Greeks identified three types of polities, each subject to degeneration over time.
Monarchy ("rule of the one") would transform into Despotism and Absolutism.
Aristocracy ("rule of the few") became Oligarchy.
Democracy ("rule of the many") transitioning, via Demagoguery, to Tyranny and then Monarchy, starting the cycle all over again.
Having a realistic assessment of human nature, Greeks saw each form with its advantages and disadvantages. And human nature has not changed in the last twenty four centuries.
As to Democracy in that era, one is reminded of the last decade of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), in which the Athenian mob in a series of impulsive, frantic, and self-destructive acts exiled or condemned to death many of its best military commanders, weakening the state and leading to Sparta's victory.
Or, as the noted philosopher Tommy Lee Jones summed it up more recently:
The framers of the Constitution of the United States sought to author a document designed to remedy the weaknesses identified by the Greeks in an effort to create a stable and sustainable form of national government constrained in its powers and with the rights of minorities protected.
To do so they employed a variety of techniques - creating three branches of government; separation of powers; defined limits of authority for each branch; federalism; and a reservation of all powers not otherwise explicitly delegated to the national government, to the states and the people.
The going has been tough at times but the result is unique, a society not just based on racial, ethnic, or religious solidarity; a society that can, at its best, cooperate voluntarily as we often see in emergencies (see for instance the 9-11 Boatlift). Maintaining what we have achieved requires constant vigilance and its continuation cannot be taken for granted.
A Constitution is only as good as the understanding and will of the people to sustain it. It is possible for the words to remain the same, yet have them hollowed out of their meaning, as has already happened in some instances. And it is also dangerous when new meanings threaten the unique aspects of our society.
Where on the spectrum of polities we head next depends on how well we can preserve what is left of the Constitution.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Friday, February 8, 2019
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
The Art Of The Biographer
Robert Caro is working on the fifth volume of his monumental biography of Lyndon B Johnson, a project he started more than 40 years ago. The fourth volume ends in mid-1964, prior to Vietnam and The Great Society, the debacles that ended LBJ's presidency (for more on Vietnam and its connection to The Great Society read the THC post Dereliction of Duty).
I've read the third and fourth volumes. Master of the Senate tells the tale of LBJ's rise to power, becoming the most powerful majority leader in its history while still only in his mid-40s. If you want to know how to utilize power and manipulate others this volume is a must-read. While the reader can see Caro is appalled at many aspects of LBJ's personality he can also admire, at times, his use of power. It's also fascinating to see how Caro, a true liberal, interprets events, so it is important for the reader to have some independent base of knowledge from which to judge his policy preferences. I found it particularly interesting when Caro reports that the primary criticism of the Senate by political scientists before LBJ's rise to power was the chamber's lack of ideological divisions, something we have an excess of in the 21st century.
The Passage of Power takes us through LBJ's failed attempt to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1960, his reluctant acceptance of the vice-presidential nomination, and the humiliations he suffered in that role at the hand of the Kennedys. The mutual hatred between Robert Kennedy and LBJ burns through the pages. We all know the events of November 22, 1963 yet Caro is able to write of them in a fresh and shattering way. Once President, LBJ comes alive again as a perpetual motion machine driving the passage of his greatest triumph, the Civil Rights Act, which had been moribund under JFK.
Caro is a fine writer, which is fortunate, since he exhaustively covers every aspect of LBJ's life. In the hands of a less accomplished author the volumes would become tedious.
The January 28 issue of The New Yorker contains a piece by Caro. "The Secrets of Lyndon Johnson's Archives", which anyone interested in the art of biography should read. The title does not do the piece justice, this is how a skilled biographer does their research, how they pierce through the myth to the reality, how they prod and yes, manipulate, those with first-hand knowledge to reveal the truth. Caro even moved to the Hill Country of Texas for three years to insinuate himself into the close-knit community protecting the LBJ legacy.
Why write the piece now, even as Caro works on the final volume of his masterpiece? He tells us at the end:
I've read the third and fourth volumes. Master of the Senate tells the tale of LBJ's rise to power, becoming the most powerful majority leader in its history while still only in his mid-40s. If you want to know how to utilize power and manipulate others this volume is a must-read. While the reader can see Caro is appalled at many aspects of LBJ's personality he can also admire, at times, his use of power. It's also fascinating to see how Caro, a true liberal, interprets events, so it is important for the reader to have some independent base of knowledge from which to judge his policy preferences. I found it particularly interesting when Caro reports that the primary criticism of the Senate by political scientists before LBJ's rise to power was the chamber's lack of ideological divisions, something we have an excess of in the 21st century.
The Passage of Power takes us through LBJ's failed attempt to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1960, his reluctant acceptance of the vice-presidential nomination, and the humiliations he suffered in that role at the hand of the Kennedys. The mutual hatred between Robert Kennedy and LBJ burns through the pages. We all know the events of November 22, 1963 yet Caro is able to write of them in a fresh and shattering way. Once President, LBJ comes alive again as a perpetual motion machine driving the passage of his greatest triumph, the Civil Rights Act, which had been moribund under JFK.
Caro is a fine writer, which is fortunate, since he exhaustively covers every aspect of LBJ's life. In the hands of a less accomplished author the volumes would become tedious.
The January 28 issue of The New Yorker contains a piece by Caro. "The Secrets of Lyndon Johnson's Archives", which anyone interested in the art of biography should read. The title does not do the piece justice, this is how a skilled biographer does their research, how they pierce through the myth to the reality, how they prod and yes, manipulate, those with first-hand knowledge to reveal the truth. Caro even moved to the Hill Country of Texas for three years to insinuate himself into the close-knit community protecting the LBJ legacy.
Why write the piece now, even as Caro works on the final volume of his masterpiece? He tells us at the end:
Which leads to a final question: Why am I publishing these random recollections toward a memoir while I’m still working on the last volume of the Johnson biography, when I haven’t finished it, while I’m still—at the age of eighty-three—several years from finishing it? Why don’t I just include this material in the longer, full-length memoir I’m hoping to write?We should all be glad he did.
The answer is, I’m afraid, quite obvious, and, if I forget it for a few days, I am frequently reminded of it, by journalists who, in writing about me and my hope of finishing, often express their doubts in a sarcastic phrase: “Do the math.” Well, I can do that math. I am well aware that I may never get to write the memoir, although I have so many thoughts about writing, so many anecdotes about research, that I would like to preserve for anyone interested enough to read them. I decided that, just in case, I’d put some of them down on paper now.
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Pantheon In The Rain
One of the most impressive buildings in the world. Built under the direction of Emperor Hadrian 1,900 years ago the Pantheon remains the largest unreinforced concrete dome anywhere. It was saved from the damage incurred by other monuments of the Roman Empire by its conversion to a church in the 7th century.
For more details on the construction techniques used by the Romans watch this.
For more details on the construction techniques used by the Romans watch this.
Monday, February 4, 2019
Things To Wonder About
I recently received bills for surgery I underwent in November. According to the summary total charges were $45,473.60 of which Medicare paid $3,413.65, my supplement insurance paid $870.84, and I paid all of $20. My claim summary triumphantly proclaims "patient savings" as $41,189.11!
What a deal; collectively we only paid 9.2% of the sticker price! Try this next time you buy a car.
What I think it really says is that the charges were not real. No real business could run that way. It's an example of the dysfunction in our entire medical system pricing scheme.
The underlying problem is if I had gone to the hospital directly and asked them to quote a price it is more likely to have been closer to $45,000 than to the $4,200 actually paid between Medicare, my insurer, and myself.
Since turning 65 I've had the benefit of Medicare coverage. However, a rough calculation of what I've paid, and expect to pay in the future, in Medicare taxes leads me to conclude that Medicare is likely to make money off me in the long-run. It would have been better for Mrs THC and I to instead put all our Medicare tax payments into a tax-exempt investment vehicle and use it to pay for our own care post-65. Instead, we are helping others pay for their medical costs. I still await someone to thank me for this.
The hospital charges point out the problem with the magical thinking Medicare For All solution advocated by progressives. Medicare and, even more so, Medicaid payments are well below those of private insurance companies. Higher private insurance payments subsidize Medicare and Medicaid by allowing hospitals and doctors to recoup their costs. If Medicare payments were to remain the same under Medicare For All many hospitals and doctor practices could not make a go of it. If Medicare payments were to increase to close the gap, the alleged cost benefits of Medicare For All would vanish in the wind.
What a deal; collectively we only paid 9.2% of the sticker price! Try this next time you buy a car.
What I think it really says is that the charges were not real. No real business could run that way. It's an example of the dysfunction in our entire medical system pricing scheme.
The underlying problem is if I had gone to the hospital directly and asked them to quote a price it is more likely to have been closer to $45,000 than to the $4,200 actually paid between Medicare, my insurer, and myself.
Since turning 65 I've had the benefit of Medicare coverage. However, a rough calculation of what I've paid, and expect to pay in the future, in Medicare taxes leads me to conclude that Medicare is likely to make money off me in the long-run. It would have been better for Mrs THC and I to instead put all our Medicare tax payments into a tax-exempt investment vehicle and use it to pay for our own care post-65. Instead, we are helping others pay for their medical costs. I still await someone to thank me for this.
The hospital charges point out the problem with the magical thinking Medicare For All solution advocated by progressives. Medicare and, even more so, Medicaid payments are well below those of private insurance companies. Higher private insurance payments subsidize Medicare and Medicaid by allowing hospitals and doctors to recoup their costs. If Medicare payments were to remain the same under Medicare For All many hospitals and doctor practices could not make a go of it. If Medicare payments were to increase to close the gap, the alleged cost benefits of Medicare For All would vanish in the wind.
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Beyond Wrong
"That is not only not right; it is not even wrong."
The quote refers to something being asserted or claimed that is not only in error, but demonstrates such complete misunderstanding and ignorance by the person making the claim that it would be a waste of time to seriously discuss. I am sure many readers can identify ideas and people falling into that category.- Wolfgang Pauli (1900-58)
Pauli, one of many European theoretical physicists who immigrated to the United States after 1933, was known for his blunt comments. The closest contemporary description of a version of the quote is from a colleague's remarks shortly after his death:
Quite recently, a friend showed him the paper of a young physicist which he suspected was not of great value but on which he wanted Pauli’s views. Pauli remarked sadly ‘It is not even wrong.’Pauli was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of what is known as the Pauli Exclusion Principle, which should not be confused with the Principle By Which Paulie Was Excluded.
I believe it the same point the philosopher Trey Parker made in his tome, The End Of An Act, when he wrote,
I miss you more than Michael Bay missed the mark
When he made Pearl Harbor
I miss you more than that movie missed the point
And that's an awful lot
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