Schattschneider

As I take a break from dissertation work (on a beautiful day when I really ought to be out watching college baseball with friends -- am I dedicated to finishing or what?), it seems appropriate to mention Jonah Golberg's latest column. Regular readers of this space know that I'm a Goldberg fan. I think he's about the best political humorist going, although he's a serious guy who knows more about politics and philosophy than most of his critics give him credit for. His latest is a case in point. Raise your hands, boys and girls, if you've ever read E .E. Schattschneider's Semi-Sovereign People. No? Ever heard of him? Come on, be honest!

If you have, then you qualify as a real politics/social science geek. Don't get me wrong -- he's an important political thinker, in spite of the fact that unless you've studied for comprehensive exams in a graduate program in political science, you may never have heard of him and are quite likely living happily. But Goldberg has, and actually describes why someone might care. Sure, Goldberg's (mostly Libertarian) critics have fun dismissing him as a lightweight, but as I've said before, there's more "there" there than one might think.

Now, back to work for me.

[Posted at 15:48 CST on 02/23/02] [Link]