I do a variation of this thread every so often and in an election year with the choices set, it feels like a good time to revisit it. It's about two competing theories, eloquently explained in one of my very favorite books, "Liberalism Against Populism." (long thread) 1/ The book's author is William Riker (pic unrelated), and at its heart, it's about how a society makes choices -- about whom to elect, what policies to enact, and so forth. Riker characterizes it in the book's subtitle as a clash between theories of democracy and social choice. 2/

What better way to celebrate the 4th (besides with some Madeira) than with a great American and great President, Calvin Coolidge, born this day in 1872. His address on the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is brilliant. Some excerpts: It is not here necessary to examine in detail the causes which led to the American Revolution. In their immediate occasion they were largely economic....But the conviction is inescapable that a new civilization had come, a new spirit had arisen on this side of the Atlantic...

It’s interesting that much of the modern administrative state is Wilsonian given Wilsonian conceptions of government being completely fantastical/unworkable. Yes, let’s just separate politics and administration! It’s simple! Except for the fact that bureaucrats ARE POLITICIANS I need people to understand they aren’t just all siloed off somewhere experting their expert work. They’re negotiating, horse-trading, logrolling, acting strategically, cultivating allies, doing all the things politicians do.

I have once again been approached by a student curious to learn about when the parties switched. The parties never switched. That’s a weird anachronistic myth perpetuated by a desire to project our current political divisions onto the past. 1/ First, it’s important to remember that parties don’t have to be ideological vehicles by definition. Parties, in Downsian language, are vehicles by which groups of people seek to win office and thereby control the government. They COULD be divided ideologically, and are now 2/