Let A Billion Flowers Bloom -- And Tolerate the Weeds
20 February 2007
Editor, The Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281
To the Editor:
Bill Johnson interprets the Anna Nicole Smith saga as cause for pessimism about American culture (Letters, Feb. 20). I dissent.
As my colleague Tyler Cowen argues in his book IN PRAISE OF COMMERCIAL CULTURE, rich and vibrant cultures feature lots of experimentation. Much of what goes on today is indeed shabby, even sometimes disgusting. But soaring cultural achievements and discovery are possible only through such wide-ranging experimentation, and by recognizing that inspiring culture is not limited to what was bequeathed to us by our ancestors.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281
To the Editor:
Bill Johnson interprets the Anna Nicole Smith saga as cause for pessimism about American culture (Letters, Feb. 20). I dissent.
As my colleague Tyler Cowen argues in his book IN PRAISE OF COMMERCIAL CULTURE, rich and vibrant cultures feature lots of experimentation. Much of what goes on today is indeed shabby, even sometimes disgusting. But soaring cultural achievements and discovery are possible only through such wide-ranging experimentation, and by recognizing that inspiring culture is not limited to what was bequeathed to us by our ancestors.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Tuesday October 23, 2007 at 6:29am