In seeking mistakenly to emulate the natural sciences, the social sciences have forsaken history and with it that richness of understanding of human nature which the greatest historians have been able to command. Without history, the social sciences are always in danger of degenerating into a priori theorising of little relevance to the real world of politics.

from New Statesman – The battlefield of ideas.

via YouTube – Salvador Dali on “What’s My Line?”.

To see how it works, suppose that all drug violence in a city is committed by members of one of six hypothetical gangs — the Reds, Whites, Blues, Browns, Blacks and Greens — and that the authorities have enough staffing to arrest and prosecute offenders in only one gang at any one time. Mr. Kleiman proposes that the police publicly announce that their first priority henceforth will be offenders in one specific gang — say, the Reds (perhaps because its members committed the most serious crimes in the past).

This simple step quickly persuades members of that gang that further offenses will result in swift and sure punishment. And that is enough to deter them.

This works well until the gangs are made up of economists.

He had read much, if one considers his long life; but his contemplation was much more than his reading. He was wont to say that if he had read as much as other men, he should have known no more than other men.

[Casanova] excelled in mathematics no less than in philosophy. He was a competent theologian, preaching his first sermon in a Venetian church when he was not yet 16 years old. As a violinist, he earned his daily bread for a whole year in the San Samuele theatre. When he was 18 he became doctor of laws at the University of Padua—though down to the present day the Casanovists are still disputing whether the degree was genuine or spurious…He was well informed in chemistry, medicine, history, philosophy, literature, and, above all, in the more lucrative (because perplexing) sciences of astrology and alchemy…As universal dilettante, indeed, he was perfect, knowing an incredible amount of all the arts and all the sciences; but he lacked one thing, and this lack made it impossible for him to become truly productive. He lacked will, resolution, patience.

Apparently, Casanova was quite the polymath, an identity that today a dying breed (a trend unabated by Casanova’s own breeding).

It’s not surprising that where schools are able to innovate (such as in charter schools) outside the state monopoly on education, longer sessions have helped students learn.

Why has America become a nation that can’t make anything bad end, like wars, farm subsidies, our oil addiction, the drug war, useless weapons programs – oh, and there’s still 60,000 troops in Germany – and can’t make anything good start, like health care reform, immigration reform, rebuilding infrastructure.

Veto points and path dependency. The first means that there are so many places a bill can be killed (committees, chambers, presidency, etc) that legislation is rarely passed. When something does pass, path dependency – “we do it this way because we’ve always done it this way, and it’s too hard to change now” – makes sure it becomes entrenched.

We have far too much of both.