Teaching bigots to reason is an equally thankless task, but Jonathan Chait gives it a good try.
… it wastes your time, and annoys the pig.”
Jonathan Chait takes on the comparable task of trying to teach bigots how to reason. I doubt it will work, but Chait certainly gives it the old college try.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman
My father used to say, "Figures don't lie . . . but liars figure." We need to be very careful when assuming our point of view in relation to the facts we accept are the only truth. Too often "facts" are promoted by those with a spoon in the soup — like a drug company's evaluation of how well their drug works. I get irritated when facts are confused with opinions or when facts are propounded with too little testing of the theory. Any time you feel morally superior is a good time to step back and really listen to what the opposition is saying. There is almost always good on both sides; let's stop calling each other names and start listening.