A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day by John Tierney from the New York Times Nov 22, 2011
Second Course: Open-mindedness
Levy's Nine Laws of the Disillusionment of the True Liberal By Marion J. Levy, Jr.* Professor of Sociology and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. His books include The Structure of Society and Modernization and the Structure of Societies. His 'Laws' numbered six when first formulated in 1966 and later grew to nine.
1. Large numbers of things are determined, and therefore not subject to change.
2. Anticipated events never live up to expectations.
3. That segment of the community with which one has the greatest sympathy as a liberal inevitably turns out to be one of the most narrow-minded and bigoted segments of the community. (Stanley Kelley, Jr.'s Reformulation: Last guys don't finish nice.)
4. Always pray that your opposition be wicked. In wickedness there is a strong strain toward rationality. Therefore there is always the possibility, in theory, of handling the wicked by outthinking them.
Corollary One: Good intentions randomize behavior.
Subcorollary One: Good intentions are far more difficult to cope with than malicious behavior.
Corollary Two: If good intentions are combined with stupidity, it is impossible to outthink them.
5. In unanimity there is cowardice and uncritical thinking.
6. To have a sense of humor is to be a tragic figure.
7. To know thyself is the ultimate form of aggression.
8. No amount of genius can overcome a preoccupation with detail.
9. Only God can make a random selection.
* Marion Levy was a much loved member of the Woodrow Wilson School faculty while I was a graduate student there 1969-71. I never took a course from him but often joined him and fellow students for lunch in the school's cafeteria. He was chair of the East Asian Studies Department while my wife was on the faculty 1973-76.
2. Anticipated events never live up to expectations.
3. That segment of the community with which one has the greatest sympathy as a liberal inevitably turns out to be one of the most narrow-minded and bigoted segments of the community. (Stanley Kelley, Jr.'s Reformulation: Last guys don't finish nice.)
4. Always pray that your opposition be wicked. In wickedness there is a strong strain toward rationality. Therefore there is always the possibility, in theory, of handling the wicked by outthinking them.
Corollary One: Good intentions randomize behavior.
Subcorollary One: Good intentions are far more difficult to cope with than malicious behavior.
Corollary Two: If good intentions are combined with stupidity, it is impossible to outthink them.
5. In unanimity there is cowardice and uncritical thinking.
6. To have a sense of humor is to be a tragic figure.
7. To know thyself is the ultimate form of aggression.
8. No amount of genius can overcome a preoccupation with detail.
9. Only God can make a random selection.
* Marion Levy was a much loved member of the Woodrow Wilson School faculty while I was a graduate student there 1969-71. I never took a course from him but often joined him and fellow students for lunch in the school's cafeteria. He was chair of the East Asian Studies Department while my wife was on the faculty 1973-76.
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